The Greatest Gift
by Voltora
Summary: MWPP fic. It's a Marauder Christmas! Unfortunatly there's a full moon on the way but Sirius decides to do something to help his friend make this a Christmas to remember. *COMPLETED*
1. Grimoires Cove

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The Greatest Gift

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Dedicated to those who truly understand what it means to have a friend, and to be a friend in return.

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Chapter One; Grimoire's Cove

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~ A friend notices you getting wistful over something you cannot afford. And gives it to you for Christmas.

Charlotte Gray~

The village of Hogsmeade looked very much like it belonged on a Christmas card. Gently falling snow was settling in the streets and on the rooftops of buildings. Brightly coloured fairy lights strung across numerous trees. Wreaths hanging on every door. People, all wrapped up warmly, walked the streets, taking the time to appreciate the feel of Christmas so near.

With one exception.

Sirius Black ploughed through the snowdrifts and crowds, dark eyes darting from one shop window to the next, searching frantically. It was the twentieth of December and he still hadn't finished his Christmas shopping.

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Why didn't I do this sooner? He thought despairingly as he eyed the display in Honeydukes window. _I leave it later and later every year. Lily's right, one day I'll end up doing all my shopping on Christmas Eve!_

The problem was Sirius always got stuck trying to think of something to get for his friends and even after nearly seven years of knowing them, Sirius often had to resort to picking each of their brains in turn, looking for inspiration. Not that he ever got any help from Peter. Picking Wormtail's brain was like snapping a broomstick in half and expecting it to fly. Pointless! He was a good friend, just a bit dim.

Lily had never had a problem getting her friends' presents. It had been long suspected that she did all her shopping over the summer holidays. She often bought them something Muggle related which provided the guys with endless hours of amusement. 

Sirius grinned, remembering Lily's last present to him; a box of Muggle jokes and tricks. So simple, yet they caught everybody out. But, as he passed by Zonko's, Sirius had to admit that nothing Muggle could ever beat magic.

Asking James for help rarely got Sirius anywhere. Prongs had some very definite ideas about Christmas. Memories of undignified grovelling came to mind, but James never gave in to Sirius' pleas.

Which left Remus, the only one with any brains to pick. He'd helped Sirius find gifts for Wormtail and Lily earlier that day and had suggested getting a book on advanced Transfiguration for James. 'Find something that'll challenge him! Everything seems a bit too easy now you've done the Animagus Transformation.'

Animagi.

Without a doubt, their greatest achievement. It had been worth all the endless research sessions in the library, the detentions for getting caught there at three in the morning, the repeated failed attempts and severe lack of sleep. (Thank goodness Lily had introduced them to the wonder that was coffee when she did.) It took them three long years before all their hard work paid off.

James, Sirius and Peter.

Stag, dog and rat.

Prongs, Padfoot and Wormtail.

And they'd done it for Remus.

Sirius smiled at the memory of the look on his friends face when they did the first successful change. He'd been, quite literarily, over the moon. He even burst into tears he was so overcome!

Unfortunately, Sirius ruefully reminded himself, the full moon was going to fall on Christmas Day this year. Remus was looking more tired and sickly with each day.

It wasn't fair! Christmas was _their_ time! It was more than a holiday. The swapping of gifts, the food, the decorations, none of it _really_ mattered to them.

It meant more to them than any of that.

Their very first Christmas at Hogwarts had brought the five of them together as a group for the first time. James and Sirius were firm friends already and Peter sort of tagged around after them, but was not really part of the group. Remus was a loner; he kept himself to himself mostly, although he and Lily would often play chess together. Lily was the only first year Gryffindor girl to stay at Hogwarts for the holiday. She'd hung around with Remus and they'd somehow been dragged into a food fight involving James, Sirius and Peter against a group of first year Slytherins that had been throwing unprovoked insults at the whole of Gryffindor house since the start of term. They had all received detention and sparked the beginning of a firm friendship between the five of them.

The following year had brought the unexpected discovery of Remus' lycanthropy. It had been a shock all round but when it came down to it; it didn't affect their friendship. If anything, it made it stronger. That Christmas also launched the beginning of the Marauders. They found that each of them had a shared fascination of jokes, tricks and generally causing magical mayhem.

Lily didn't always approve, but they did make her an honorary Marauder after she'd hidden fireworks under Narcissa Malitia's chair in the Great Hall after she called Lily a Mudblood. It had been quite hilarious watching the stuck-up snob go shooting several feet up into the air in a huge burst of brightly coloured sparks and falling straight into a huge bowl of punch on the teachers table, screaming her head off until that point.

Head of Slytherin house, Professor Scythe, had demanded that whoever was responsible to stand up. Very bravely, Lily owned up.

'You better have a _very_ good reason for this,' Professor Scythe said coldly, assisting a sopping wet Narcissa out of the bowl.

'I do, sir.'

'Well?'

'I thought it'd be a laugh.'

She'd even said it with a straight face. A true Marauder. James had had an obvious crush on the pretty green-eyed redhead from that moment on.

Sirius swept past the Three Broomsticks pub. Glancing in the window, he spotted Hagrid, the gamekeeper at Hogwarts. Their third year at Hogwarts had been pretty special too. Sadly, Hagrids dog, Fenris, had died just a few weeks before the holiday. Peter had come up with a wonderful idea and on Christmas Day presented Hagrid with a beautiful black boarhound puppy, a joint gift from the Marauders. Hagrid had simply loved it, naming her Holly in honour of the occasion.

About the same time, James had come up with the idea of turning into animals. The theory being that since a werewolf seeks only humans as prey, surely that meant animals would be safe in its company? 

The Animagus Project was born.

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Pretty ambitious for a group of thirteen-year-old wizards, Sirius thought smugly. _And we did it! Shame Lily didn't want to risk it._

Unfortunately their next Christmas wasn't so happy. Lily's elder Muggle cousin, Daphne, had been killed in a car crash. Lily was so miserable that she hardly seemed to notice that it was Christmas. That year was solely devoted to helping Lily get through it, to cheer her up. She had been very grateful to all of them, James especially. Some months later, James asked Lily out on a date. She'd accepted.

But their fifth year Christmas was Sirius' personal favourite. (The Animagus Project had been going really well, although they didn't succeed in the actual transformation until the following February.) Sirius had recently discovered an interest in Muggle motorbikes. He'd become almost obsessed over the summer and couldn't wait till he was old enough to take his test. His father disapproved but it only made him more persistent to learn more about them.

The rest of the Marauders, plus Lily, had taken him to a Muggle town a few miles outside of Hogsmeade, and Lily introduced him to Alfred, an old friend of the Evans family who worked in a garage there, repairing cars and motorbikes. Alfred was more than happy to teach Sirius everything he knew about motorbikes. The two of them had been great friends ever since. Sirius snuck out of Hogwarts every weekend to visit him and get private lessons on Alfred's bike. Definably the best present he'd ever had.

Last year had been James' Christmas. That year he had been elected as Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and his father, Ian Potter, who was a well know and highly respected Auror, had apprehended a group of Death Eaters at the start of December, earning him the Order of Merlin First Class. James had never been so proud.

Each Christmas the group had stayed at Hogwarts together, sharing everything, renewing their friendship on a stronger foundation with each passing year.

But this year, their seventh and final year, was going to be different. The full moon would emerge on the night of the twenty-fifth, Remus would go through the horrendous transformation, lose all sense of his human self. Sirius and the others would stay with him, no question about that, but still, despite their calming influence on his wolf form, Remus would be completely drained of energy the following morning, spending the next few days in the hospital wing, weak and vulnerable to the slightest infection. It took a lot out of him. It always did.

Sirius angrily kicked his way through a snowdrift. It made him feel even worse that he couldn't find a present for Moony. Anything that might cheer him up after he regained his strength. But in all honesty, what could possibly make the transformation easier on him?

A large snowball smacking into the back of his head interrupted his sombre thoughts. Losing his balance, Sirius fell forward into the snow. Rubbing his sore head, he looked over his shoulder to see Severus Snape, Evan Rosier and Martin Avery right behind him.

Oh crap.

'Well, well, well,' Snape sneered down at him. 'Look who we have here; one of the Gryffin-dorks.' 

Rosier and Avery roared with laughter, despite hearing that joke about a million times before.

Sirius was unimpressed. He yawned.

'Yeah, hilarious Sev, you couldn't come up with anything new?'

The Slytherin Sneer grew ever wider as the three of them produced several snowballs each from behind their backs. Large and packed with ice and small stones.

Double crap.

While sincerely wishing the rest of the Marauders were here, Sirius wasn't sorry for an excuse to fight Snape, providing Rosier and Avery didn't join in. Fat chance of that. A two year old could see that Sirius wasn't going to win this, especially from his undignified position scrawled in the snow at their feet.

Still, he wasn't completely helpless.

Seemingly bracing himself for the onslaught of snowballs, he crouched slightly, discreetly slipping his wand out of his sleeve. General rule of mischief making and Marauder Law; Always keep your wand handy.

BANG!

Snape, Rosier and Avery lurched backwards as a huge cloud of purple smoke erupted from beneath their feet. Blindly, they lobbed the snowballs where they'd last seen Sirius. Next moment, the smoke cleared and –

'Where is he?' demanded Snape.

'There!' Rosier pointed at the retreating figure dashing away up the street and into the crowd.

'Well, don't just stand there! Get him!'

Gasping for breath, Sirius weaved his way through the crowd of witches and wizards, dashed past a group of warlocks and slipped among a group of fellow Hogwarts students. Glancing over his shoulder he could see Snape, Rosier and Avery in hot pursuit.

Damn it! They'd seen him.

Breaking through the ranks of the crowd, they threw several snowballs directly at him.

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'Declino revenire!'

The spell caught the snowballs a metre from smashing into Sirius' face. Like boomerangs, they swerved away and straight back to the Slytherins. Snape was the only one quick enough to cast a Shield Charm to protect himself. Rosier and Avery both ended up with snow plastered all over their faces and flat on their backs on the street.

Smirking, Sirius raced down the nearest alleyway. Another Marauder rule; Do what you can, then leg it! Hey, it was better than hanging around being outnumbered three-to-one.

Pity he couldn't transform here, but Snape already knew too much about the Marauders for their liking, and that was undeniably Sirius' fault.

Last year he'd sent Snape down the tunnel beneath the Whomping Willow on the night of the full moon, just as Remus was about to transform. Thank goodness James had had the guts to go after him, otherwise … Sirius cringed … Remus might have killed him, or worse, bitten him, created another werewolf. The last thing Remus would want to happen.

But now Severus knew what Remus was … it was different when close friends know something like that about you, they accepted you for it. Enemies despised you for it. Even though Professor Dumbledore had strictly forbidden Severus to tell anyone, Remus was terrified that he'd tell, people would find out and he'd be forced to leave.

However, Severus bore more of a grudge on Sirius than Remus, hence this attack while he was on his own.

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If he played by any rules at all, he'd break them Sirius thought as he legged it round a corner, the Slytherins gaining on him.

A decent hiding place was what he needed right about now. Zonko's? Nope, it was back the other way. Honeydukes? Nowhere near it. Dervish and Banges? Opps, just missed it! A small dark shop tucked down an alley caught his eye. Better than nothing.

He made a beeline for it, slipping out of sight behind a crowd of elderly witches emerging from the bakers. He reached the door, shoved it open, sounding a dull bell as he did so, and dashed inside. Peering through the murky window, Sirius could just make out the blurry shapes of his pursuers only just breaking through the crowd, looking every direction for their quarry.

Snape glared around angrily, gestured to the other two and they spread out.

A prickling on the back of his neck told Sirius that someone was watching him. Slowly, he turned and took in his surroundings.

The little shop looked suspiciously like an old abandoned attic. The strong smell of damp mould hung in the air. Fine cobwebs were draped in the far corners. A thin layer of dust lay on what few clear surfaces there were. Odd tables and shelves, haphazardly placed around the shop displayed all sorts of curious trinkets.

And there was no one there.

'Hello?' Sirius called.

No answer.

Maybe this shop was closed? He hadn't noticed a sign on the door, nor had it been locked. Sirius shrugged. Oh well …

Sirius wandered among the shelves, looking around. Might as well lie low for a bit; wait until Snape called off his minions.

A large display of dark coloured candles threw flickering shadows onto a nearby collection of hideous masks. An old grandfather clock stood in the far corner, its ticking dull as it were tired. Made of near-black wood, the craved design was that of fluttering bats. Jars of foul smelling liquids and powders were crammed onto shelves with some assorted little statues of cats, snakes and spiders.

Sirius cautiously eyed a large obsidian scorpion encrusted with dark green jewels on its tail, back and eyes.

'Welcome,' said a low voice.

Sirius jerked away from the scorpion, spun round and found himself facing an old woman. She was a head shorter than him, rather plump and very wrinkled. Her long scraggly hair was grey-white and her eyes so dark they looked black. Her dark grey robes were stained with what Sirius assumed (or maybe hoped) were potion spots.

'Welcome to Grimoire's Cove.' She said in a low husky voice, smiling toothlessly up at him. 'Can I help you, young man?'

'Err,'

Sirius took an involuntary step back from her.

'Actually … I was just …'

'Running from someone.'

It wasn't a question.

'How did you …?'

'Perhaps this will interest you.'

The old woman grabbed Sirius' wrist with a bony withered hand, (she had a very strong grip he noticed) and almost dragged him to the back of the shop where a number of tall bookcases stood, stuffed with thick volumes and yellowing scrolls bound with black ribbons.

She released his arm and pulled a book from the shelf, holding it out to him. The black embossed cover read; Retribution Rites for the Resentful.

Nursing his sore wrist, Sirius looked from the book back up to the witch. She looked imploringly up at him, still holding the book out.

'Take it.' She hissed.

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Hmm, pushy. Even for a sales-witch.

'Thanks … but no thanks, ma'am.' She was really giving him the creeps.

Her smile faltered. Her eyes narrowed.

'It's just that-' He took a hurried step back and bumped into the bookshelf behind him.

'Careful!' she screeched.

WHAM!

A heavy book had tumbled off the top shelf and struck Sirius hard on the head! His vision swam and he dropped to his knees, stunned.

The woman made no move to help him. Instead, she disappeared into a back room, muttering incoherently.

Muttering a few choice words himself, Sirius tenderly rubbed the sore bump on his head, and as soon as his vision cleared, glared at the offending book. It had fallen open beside him. About to shove it away from him, the heading on the page caught his attention. He paused, eyes travelling slowly down the page. He reached out and carefully picked it up.

The old woman was back. This time with her wand in hand. Her grim expression changed to slight surprise as she watched Sirius flipping through the book, thoroughly engrossed.

'Found something, my dear?' she asked.

Sirius looked up, realised he was still on the floor, scrambled up, dusted himself off and held up the book.

'Yeah, how much is this?'

She told him the price.

Sirius gave a low whistle. Very pricey, but …

'I'll take it.'

The old woman's face crinkled into a very satisfied smile.

Five minutes later, Sirius emerged from Grimoire's Cove with the heavy book tucked under his arm.

And from behind the shop window, the old woman watched him go, a cold smile playing across her lips as a pitch-black raven settled on her shoulder.

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To Be Continued …

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Authors note

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Well, not too bad for something that just fell out of my head. This is going to be a fairly short fic (compared to my other one, anyway) and all eight chapters will be up before Christmas. I plan to update every Tuesday and Friday. Hope you'll like it!

Any similarities with other fics are not intended and purely coincidental.

I do not own Harry Potter so you have no reason to sue me.

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Please Review

All comments and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. 


	2. All I Can Give

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The Greatest Gift

Chapter Two; All I Can Give

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~ What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?

Mary Ann Evans (1819-1880)

The following evening, Remus Lupin sneaked up to the seventh year's dormitory to finish wrapping his friends presents. It had taken awhile to get away from Lily as she'd challenged him to a game of chess. She was a great player, _very_ hard to beat. Then she kept demanding a rematch when Remus did defeat her. They'd played seven or eight games before Peter had come into the common room and Remus had accidentally-on-purpose put his king piece in danger, losing the game. A split second before Lily could suggest another game; Remus had dragged Peter over and convinced him to 'do battle' on his behalf, then scarpered up the stairs to the dormitory. 

He took Lily's gift out from its hiding place under his bed and examined it again.

It was a snow globe containing two miniature unicorns; a mare and her foal. The tiny golden foal raced in circles, rearing and bucking, kicking up the snow. The silvery mare trotted at its side, ever watchful for any sign of danger.

Finding a sheet of sparkling blue paper and a roll of spellotape, he set to work. For obvious reasons a box is the easiest thing to wrap, making anything round the most difficult. And it doesn't help when the spellotape sticks to everything but the paper!

He wasn't worried that anyone would interrupt him. Lily would challenge anyone who dared to enter the common room to a game of chess and Peter would be stuck down there in the meantime. James was over at the Owlery sending what had to be a ton of Christmas cards to his entire family and all his friends that had gone home for the holiday, so he'd be there for a while.

Sirius, for some bizarre reason, was downstairs in the library. He'd been in there nearly all day. _Must be ill, _Remus thought with a smile.

Although … with a soft groan Remus rested his head in his hands. His head was pounding, had been for the past half hour. But there wasn't much he could about it. He had been getting steadily worse as the full moon crept slowly nearer, like a predator about to pick off the weakest victim it could take.

The calendar on the wall had a small blue mark beside the twenty-fifth. It didn't seem fair but since when was life fair? You could moan and whine about everything that went wrong for you, but in the end you normally can't do anything other than try to deal with it.

Certainly Remus didn't _ask_ a werewolf to bite him, it just happened. He received the curse of lycanthropy from the wolf and he could do nothing but try to cope with it. There wasn't anything else he _could _do.

Remus' eyes strayed from the calendar over to his bedside table where a single framed photo stood. The photographic selves of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs stood waving back at him. Laughing and joking, Padfoot transformed into his Animagus form, a huge black dog and promptly launched himself on top of Moony, licking his face. Prongs followed suit, changing into a handsome red-brown stag, bounding out of sight as a fat grey rat scrambled onto Moony's shoulder, whiskers twitching away like mad.

Remus smiled.

They were the best friends in the whole world. They were the reason he'd been able to cope so well with his affliction. Before he'd been accepted to Hogwarts, Remus had had not one single friend. At the age of six, he had wandered off into a forest and gotten lost. Night had fallen; the full moon rose, bringing a werewolf with it. The inevitable happened. His parents had reacted far worse to it than Remus had. They refused to believe it at first, insisting that their son was fine. But even at that age, Remus knew a lot more than people gave him credit for. It was he who would be reassuring his distraught mother and father, the one who took it calmly. At least outwardly. Inside, he felt like he'd been torn apart, yet he didn't let it show. Ever.

He learnt to cope.

The worst experience was the realisation that the chances of him being accepted to Hogwarts were slim-to-none. He refused to give up hope, praying that a cure would be found before he reached his eleventh birthday. His parents never brought up the subject in front of him for fear of upsetting him. But seemingly unknown to them, Remus listened in on their late night discussions about their sons' doubtful future.

'He won't be allowed in!' his father had insisted. 'Surely you can see that?'

'But there must be something!' his mother was close to tears whenever they spoke of this. 'Maybe Professor Dippit will allow Remus-'

'He's a danger to the students there, Diane! Can't you see that? If he were allowed in it would mean putting every student and professor there at risk! We can't let that happen, not to another child.'

That, Remus could understand. He didn't want to put anyone else at risk and his father seemed resigned to fact that his son would not be going to Hogwarts. They did consider getting a private tutor to teach him magic, but they were very expensive and it was unlikely that any would want to teach a werewolf.

Then, just a few weeks before his eleventh birthday, the Daily Prophet announced the untimely death of Professor Dippit (an unfortunate accident involving a Bloating Charm and mint humbug) and that his predecessor as Headmaster of Hogwarts was Albus Dumbledore, a highly respected wizard known for his kind nature and fondness of Muggles. Remus' parents were very surprised when Albus Dumbledore sent them an invitation to see him in order to discuss their 'problem'. They were even more surprised to find that Dumbledore had taken a personal interest in their sons' predicament when Professor Dippit had refused to accept him.

After a meeting with the school matron, Madam Pomfrey, Dumbledore had taken the Lupins out into the grounds and shown them where he could arrange for a secret and secure hiding place where Remus could stay during the full moons. A Whomping Willow could be placed over the entrance to the tunnel and Madam Pomfrey could fetch him in the morning to attend to any wounds. Mr and Mrs Lupin were delighted and Remus was officially declared a student of Hogwarts.

His main problem now was keeping his lycanthropy a secret from the other students. Surely they would notice his regular disappearances? And he had to be very careful not to display any of his werewolf traits, for while in human form, Remus' senses were highly developed, like a wolfs. His sense of smell was fairly powerful and it had grown as he'd gotten older. Now seventeen, he could detect what the house-elves were cooking down in the kitchens from up on the fourth floor and track people by scent. His eyesight had sharpened but there was a lack of colour, everything looked slightly dull. Night vision on the other hand was incredible! And his hearing was very sharp as well. Over the years he'd developed the knack to 'blocking out' most of the distance sounds, focusing instead on the immediate vicinity. 

He covered up his rather predictable disappearances by telling people that his mother was very ill and that he was permitted to go home and see her on a regular basis. Yet, the students were not completely blind. They could see there was something else going on and figured out the truth. They confronted him about it and Remus panicked since any knowledge of a werewolf among the students at Hogwarts would automatically result in his immediate removal. However, James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew didn't seem to mind that he was a werewolf; in fact they thought it was kinda cool. Particularly his heightened senses. Peter would often complain about his empty stomach and Remus would enlighten them all with his knowledge of what they would be getting for dinner that day. He was never wrong.

While they had been very supportive of him, Remus had to confess that he believed them to be crazy to even _think_ of attempting the Animagus Transformation. They didn't have a clue where to start! And it was dangerous! The minimum age to become an Animagus was twenty-four as it was an exceptionally difficult spell. None but the most skilled of wizards could think to try it. On occasion, the Daily Prophet would report that some wizard or another had gotten himself or herself permanently stuck in animal form or (rarer still) in a half-transformed state. 

Yet Sirius' only worry was that they wouldn't change into large enough animals to keep a werewolf in check. He didn't seem to care that he might be badly hurt or killed should their theory fail. And a theory was all it was.

Until they proved it fact. It was a complete success. Every full moon they kept him company, stopping him from hurting himself for lack of human prey and soon they started looking forward to each full moon when the four of them could transform, to run together under the starlight, Prongs carrying Wormtail with Padfoot and Moony howling at the moon, defining its control on their wolfin friend.

Yeah, they were crazy all right. All of them.

Remus wouldn't change them for the world. Not for anything.

The dormitory door opened with a loud creak and Sirius came in, a broad smile on his face that widened as he spotted Remus.

'Hey, Moony!'

'Hi, you're awfully perky,' said Remus. 'You been at the coffee again?'

'Nope.' Sirius bounced onto his bed, grinning manically at his friend. 'Oooh, nice.' He nodded at the now wrapped globe, the shiny paper reflecting the light. 'Who's that for?'

'Lily,' Remus tucked it back under the bed. 'Snow globe for her collection.'

'D'you have mine?' 

Remus glared mockingly at him. 'What makes you think I'd tell you?'

Sirius shrugged.

'Cos I'll tell you what I've got you for Christmas?'

'Not supposed to do that, Padfoot. You should wait until the twenty-fifth like everyone else.'

He made to leave.

'Hang on!' Sirius bounced back off the bed. 'I'm gonna have to give you your present early!'

'Have to? Why?'

'Because … er …' Looking as though he'd lost something, Sirius rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a stack of parchment notes. 'You might want to sit down for this.'

Utterly confused, Remus sat on his bed but Sirius remained standing. With a flourish he handed Remus the parchment. Curiously he took it, read the heading. His blue-grey eyes widened considerably. His mouth fell open.

Clutching the paper tightly, he quickly read it through. Then he reread it, blinking hard as though he couldn't believe what he'd just read.

Sirius was watching him closely, still grinning.

'Well?' he said anxiously. 'What do you think?'

Remus' head snapped up. Staring at him, his expression difficult to read.

'Padfoot, I-' he swallowed. 'W-where did you find this?'

'Some shop in Hogsmeade,' Sirius waved his hand dismissively. 'I've been in the library checking it against similar theories.' His eyes shone. 'I think it'll work!'

'Think?'

'Well … there is a lot of theory, but no biggy! It's like the Animagus-'

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'It's nothing like the Animagus Transformation!' Remus leapt to his feet. 'We had seen proof that it worked! You have absolutely no idea if this … you weren't thinking of _trying_ this, were you?'

'Course I am!' Sirius looked surprised 'Why not?'

'It's dangerous!'

'How can you tell?'

Remus bit his lip.

'Moony, think about it!'

'Have you?' he asked quietly. 'Do you understand what this involves? What you're asking me to do?' He shook his head. 'I won't do it.'

Sirius looked even more confused.

'Huh? Remus, I thought you'd leap at a chance like this. To avoid the transformation.'

'By infecting somebody else?'

'Only temporarily!' he insisted. 'The spell will reverse itself after a while, everything back to normal.'

'But who-'

'Duh! Me, of course!'

'What!'

'Look, look.' Sirius placed an arm round his friends shoulder and pointed at the parchment. 'The spell requires an exchange of similar 'aspects of the soul', so theoretically we can swap your lycanthropy-' 

'For your Animagus ability.' Remus whispered.

'Exactly!' That manic grin was back. 'So what do you say?'

Remus gapped at him like a fish out of water. Finally, he found his voice.

'No,' Quiet, but firm. 'I won't do it.'

'But-'

'I said no, Sirius! Drop it.'

And before Sirius could say another word, Remus fled the room.

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To Be Continued …

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Authors Notes

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Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the first chapter! Words fail me! *watery smile* 

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Please Review!

All comments and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated.


	3. Do I Dare?

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The Greatest Gift

Chapter Three; Do You Dare?

~_The most I can do for my friend is simply to be his friend. I have no wealth to bestow upon him. If he knows that I am happy in loving him, he will want no other reward. Is not friendship divine in this?_

Lavatin

On the morning of the twenty-second, Remus did all he could to avoid Sirius. It wasn't to do with the spell exactly; it was more to do with preventing Sirius from doing something stupid.

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He's mad, Remus though firmly. _No, he's beyond mad, he's insane! What is he thinking?_

Hiding in the Shrieking Shack probably wasn't the best idea but he was sure that Sirius wouldn't think that Remus would come down here. Not before the full moon anyway.

The young werewolf wandered the abandoned house. Built solely for his use, it was enforced with Unbreakable Charms on the windows and the front door was actually a solid wall just pretending. Secure and inescapable. To keep others safe from him.

It was a prison, a cage. Nothing more.

Remus shivered, yet he wasn't cold.

What Sirius had shown him, scared him. But it was also tempting. Very tempting. Maybe that was _why_ it scared him. To be rid of the curse, if only for a short while, was a wonderful thought.

But did Sirius fully understand the implications of the spell? If … if the spell worked … Sirius would become like him … a werewolf.

He couldn't do it! He refused to put one of his best friends through such an ordeal! None of them knew how painful the change was, what it was like to surrender your human conscience to the savage inner animal, the irresistible urge to hunt and to kill.

Many people were unaware that while in wolf form, the human mind is still active, still aware of what its wolf form is doing. But it is completely powerless to take control. Once the change back to human form has occurred, some memories fade quickly as dreams while others, normally those concerning hunting, were retained in their entirety. They haunted his nightmares almost every single night.

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No, I can't – won't – do it Remus thought firmly. _His heart's in the right place, his brain on the other hand …_

But Sirius wasn't exactly one for making rash decisions. When they'd come up with the Animagus Project, Sirius was the one pointing out the main problems before they'd even begun, namely; you could not pick and choose what you wanted to transform into on the actual change. It wouldn't matter if they succeeded, because if they ended up turning into fish or tiny insects, the whole project would have failed.

But they went ahead, took that chance and it paid off.

And now Sirius wanted to take another chance. To go through the lycanthrope metamorphosis in Remus' place. In exchange for his lycanthropy, Remus would be granted Sirius' Animagus ability.

It was a completely selfless act on Sirius' part.

__

So does that make me ungrateful to refuse it? Remus wondered. _He wants to do this – for me. But how can I agree to put him through it? _

He knows the risks. 

I can be human for a while.

__

Do I dare?

*

Sirius sat in the Great Hall eating with James, Lily and Peter. While they talked, Sirius kept looking around, hoping that Remus would show up.

He hadn't seen him all day. And no one else had seen him either.

'Padfoot?'

'Hmm?' 

Prongs was eyeing him with a concerned look on his face.

'You okay?'

'Yeah.'

'Sure? You've been on a verbal strike for the past ten minutes, what gives?'

Sirius shrugged, pushing his food aimlessly around on his plate, hardly paying attention to the odd looks Lily and Wormtail were giving him.

'Any of you seen Remus lately?' he asked.

'You asked me that half an hour ago,' said Lily. 'He's probably in the library. You know what he's like – head in a book and he's lost to the world.'

James leaned forward.

'Did you two have an argument or something?'

'What? No, I just … do you have any idea what I can get him for Christmas?'

James looked shocked.

'You _still_ haven't found anything?'

'Hey, I found a _great_ present for him!' Sirius protested. 'Only – it's … kinda …'

'Expensive?' Wormtail suggested between bites of chicken.

'You might say that.'

__

Flump.

Remus' Barred owl, Tally, landed in front of Sirius, holding a roll of parchment out to him.

__

Padfoot, 

Can I talk to you? I'm in the Owlery. Send Tally back with your answer.

Moony.

Flipping the parchment over before the others could read it, Sirius scrawled.

__

Sure. I'll be right up.

*

Sirius and Remus stayed in the Owlery until gone eleven, going over the spell in great detail. The most important element was that their souls had to be compatible in order for the transition to succeed. Sirius figured that since they both had canine forms, it made them a perfect match. Remus was a little dubious about that logic, but he couldn't be picky.

It was his chance to be human.

Obviously the spell wasn't permanent. Once cast, the spell would be active for exactly three days, so they decided to try it out on the stroke of midnight tomorrow, the twenty-third. That would give Remus Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day to be completely human for the first time in eleven years. Or he could become a dog should he wish to do so.

They decided to perform the spell at the top of the Astronomy Tower. With any luck avoiding the ghosts, Peeves in particular, and more importantly; Filch. Sirius would have asked Prongs if he could borrow the Invisibility Cloak but then Prongs would want to know why. Both of them had agreed not to mention anything to the others, just in case the spell didn't work after all.

They didn't need the hassle.

*

That night Sirius dreamt that he was in the Shrieking Shack, all alone but for a raven with misty white eyes. Through the boarded up windows he could feel the full moon rise. But he didn't change. Or rather he didn't change physically. Suddenly he was compelled, irresistibly so, to kill. The bird, cawing at him, floated on the air, mocking him.

Sirius lunged!

But the raven was gone.

It was Remus.

Unable to stop, Sirius landed on top of his friend and sunk his teeth and claws into the soft human flesh – 

Sirius jerked awake, sweating and shaking. Falling back on the cool pillows, he gave himself a mental slap.

'It's only a dream … it doesn't mean anything …'

On the other side of the dormitory, Remus also dreamed.

*

The full moon was up. And he didn't change. He stood by the lake, examining his reflection closely. It showed a human boy with light brown hair and blue-grey eyes. Healthy and unchanging. His reflection smiled.

Then Sirius' reflection appeared beside his own. Human for the briefest second before the wolf within forced its way out of him. The mirror image screamed silently in agony and Remus felt it too. He wasn't changing but he could still feel the pain.

Clutching his sides, he tore his eyes from the lake surface and found himself in the Shrieking Shack, Sirius before him. Transforming slowly. _Too_ slowly. It wasn't supposed to take this long! He stepped forward to help him. Fast as blinking, a huge wolf stood in Sirius' place. Still in pain.

Ignorant of the human boy standing there, the wolf proceeded to attack itself. Clawing, biting and scratching. Each wound, Remus felt as though it were being inflicted upon him! Yet every time he tried to stop him from hurting himself, Sirius would attack more viciously! Bright red blood began to flow, a growing river on the floor – 

Remus wasn't sure if it was Sirius' pain or his own that woke him.

Neither boy slept much that night.

*

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To Be Continued …

*

__

Authors notes

Oh wow! *stares at reviews* I have to say I really appreciate what you guys have written about this! I'm very proud of it so far and hope it meets your expectations! 

Barmybeth_, I'm sorry but I don't think I can stretch this into 20 chapters! I've eight planned and written out, ready to post. (With the exception of chapter seven which I am in the process of re-writing.) ;)_

Elena ".", _You're making me blush! I'm very glad you like my interpretation of Sirius, I tried my best since he is one of my favourites! _

I would write out thanks for each and every one of you but then I'd be sitting here forever writing them all out. So I think it'll be easier if I just say THANK YOU!!! ;D

*

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Please Review!

All comments and constructive criticism are appreciated.

Thank You!

(Chapter Four will be up on Friday!)


	4. Testing Limits

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The Greatest Gift

Chapter Four; Testing Limits

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~ Friends don't expect you to be perfect. In fact – they are utterly astonished when you are.

Pamela Dugdale ~

The tallest Astronomy Tower was strictly out of bounds except for classes, so being there at half eleven at night was risking a minimum of a few months' solid detention or possible expulsion. 

But getting caught was the furthest thing from their minds right now.

Remus was shaking with a combination of excitement and nerves as Sirius prepared the spell. Sirius slowly drew a large circle of salt onto the stone floor with his wand and placed an assortment of candles around the edge.

'What's all that for?' Remus asked, trying not to sound too nervous.

'The salt's just for protection, standard practise for most spells hundreds of years ago.'

And we're going to use one because?' 

'No harm in it. Anyway, this spell is pretty ancient so a circle of protection is sorta expected.' Sirius nodded to his notes that were lying beside them. 'Even if something goes wrong at least we won't get hurt.'

'Great, that makes me feel a lot better,' Remus muttered. 'And the candles?'

'You want to do this in the dark?'

Shaking his head, Remus flicked his wand lighting the candles, the small flames casting eerie shadows across the flagstone. Luckily there was no wind tonight, just a clear sky, bright with stars. The moon hung overhead, not quite full. Remus could feel it, even during the day, the feeling growing stronger as the moon moved into its final phase, and then weaken as it began to wane once more.

Sirius knelt in the circle, checking his notes. He swallowed repeatedly, shifting nervously.

'Ready?' he asked.

Remus nodded, entered the circle and knelt in front of him.

Between them was a small cauldron containing a catalyst composed of a variety of herbs. A strong smell of cinnamon, mugwort and aconite emanated from it.

Carefully, Sirius took a glass vial from inside his robes and poured a dusty grey powder from it, into the palm of his right hand, then passed to Remus so that he could do the same. Now they were ready to begin.

Sirius started to chant in Latin, holding his hand over the cauldron. Remus joined in, mirroring his actions. With a slight nod from Sirius, both of them tipped the powder onto the catalyst and pressed their palms together as thin wisps of smoke began to rise from the cauldron, drifting in a wide spiral pattern.

Taking a deep breath, Remus began to chant again, his heart pounding in his ears.

__

'With these words the spell is spoken,

Wards are down, the barriers broken.'

A large mushroom shaped cloud billowed silently out of the cauldron, engulfing them. The candlelight flickered through the hazy mist.

Trying not to cough, Sirius took over the chant.

__

'Pierce the gloom to lift the veil,

Release the souls but hold the scale.'

The clouds surrounding them started to spin, like they were sitting within a cyclone. The light beyond it flared, the clouds glowing fiery red and orange. Heart pounding harder than ever, Remus looked into Sirius' face. He couldn't remember the next part of the spell! His mind was simply overpowered by the drumbeat of his heart.

Then he realised that it wasn't just _his_ heart he could hear. Sirius' heart was pounding just as loudly, and as fast. Louder and louder, the thundering pulse drowned out everything.

Their bodies quivered slightly, their palms still held against the other. Sirius raised his eyebrows in a silent question. _You okay?_

Numbly, Remus gave a small nod, the words coming back to him, whispering them to the wind that surged soundless around them.

__

'To turn about the inner space,

The newfound vessel shall embrace.'

__

'Joined together, soul and mind,

Animagus form to you I bind!'

At Sirius' words, a surge, like a powerful river, started to flow through them, through their hands to one another, through the very air around them.

Mesmerised by the feeling, Remus almost forgot to continue the chant. A slight nudge from Sirius jerked him out of his reverie and he blurted out –

__

'Joined together, soul and mind,

Lycanthrope curse –'

His mouth went dry. 

Sirius couldn't say a word for fear of breaking the spell. _Remus, come on!_ He gave Remus' hand a slight squeeze. _Come on, you can do it._

In a voice, barely more than a whisper, Remus uttered the rest of the spell.

__

'- to you I bind.'

As they'd practised, they shouted the final couplet together.

__

'Life force elements now translocate!' 

But something was wrong.

Sirius' eyes were different. From dark brown they shifted to darkest black, and judging by the look on his face, Remus' eyes had changed as well.

The pulsing beat of their hearts was speeding up, faster and faster, still in sync. The flow between them became stronger. Remus shook with each pulse, a roaring in his ears.

They had to finish the spell, say the final line! Panicking, Remus tried to speak but couldn't quite get the words out.

__

'Secure … secure the … link …'

Then something ripped through their bodies like a bolt of electricity! Sirius' eyes rolled back into his head, mouth open in a silent scream. Remus felt as though he were being ripped apart from the inside. 

A blaze of light flared through his eyelids, a loud crack sounded through the night air like a gunshot –

With a sudden lurch, the connection broke, flinging both teenagers backwards out of the circle. Landing painfully in a heap, both lay still, breathing hard and fast. The light faded to nothing, the cloudy mist dispersed and they were left in total darkness but for the pale distant starlight.

Stunned and exhausted, the two of them drifted in and out of consciousness for several minutes. Finally, Sirius managed to sit up, rubbing his head. Remus slowly got to his feet, staggering slightly, leaning against the wall to steady himself.

They just looked at each other. Not saying a word.

*

'I'm really sorry about that, Moony,' Sirius whispered as they crept up the stairs to the dormitory.

'It's all right. You tried.'

'But it's not all right! I wanted to give you something … special … this year.'

'It's the thought that counts, you never heard that before?'

'Sure, and I think I could do with a Quaffle sized aspirin right about now. How about you? Feeling okay?'

Remus considered.

'Yes, actually. I feel fine.'

Sirius groaned. 'Lucky you. D'you know this is the third time I've hit my head this week? Wonder how many times I can take it before I get a concussion.'

'Shhh!'

Quiet as mice, they sneaked into the dormitory, pulled on their pyjamas and climbed into bed.

'Night Moony.' Whispered Sirius.

'G'night Padfoot.'

Remus soon drifted off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep. Sirius, meanwhile, was starting to feel quite sickly and didn't drop off to sleep until nearly two in the morning.

*

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To Be Continued …

*

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Authors note

I'd like to apologise for my lack of skill as a poet, that was my first attempt ever, but personally I was rather pleased. Let me know what you think!

MagicisinmyName; _I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stray to the edge of Sirius and Remus torture! *steps back a pace* And I'm very happy you agree with me on Remus' eye colour by the way! I refuse to believe they're anything but grey-blue. ;)_

Kiara Black; _Thank you so much for your reviews! You don't have to hunt me down to get me to write more, reading reviews from people who keep coming back do wonders for motivation!_

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Please Review

All comments and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!

Thank You.


	5. Blur The Boundaries

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The Greatest Gift

Chapter Five; Blur The Boundaries

__

~ Throughout all eternity – including now – the deep respect and trust of a friend is probably the most satisfying of life's experiences.

Walter MacPeek ~

Remus actually woke up the following morning feeling quite … optimistic, for lack of a better word. An odd reaction considering that the spell had failed and the full moon would rise tomorrow night. But for some reason, he didn't care. It was Christmas Eve, why worry about it now?

Sirius was still fast asleep, curled up in his sheets, long untidy black hair only just visible on the pillow. Deciding against waking him, Remus dressed and went down for breakfast.

James and Lily were already up. James appeared only half awake, breathing in the fumes from his steaming mug of coffee, trying not to fall back to sleep. Lily smiled as Remus sat down opposite them with a cheery 'Morning!'

'Is it me,' she asked James, 'or is Remus all glowy?'

'You have that effect on most people.' Said James, awake at last.

Lily went as red as her hair, smiling coyly.

'So, what's up with you, Moony?' asked Prongs, shifting his attention away from his girlfriend.

Remus shrugged. 'I'm just in a good mood.'

You look better today,' said Lily. Her eyes narrowed. 'Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to show you guys Muggle coffee after all.'

'I haven't had any.' Remus protested in mild indignation. 'Am I not allowed to be in a good mood once in a while?'

'Not this early in the morning.' Prongs murmured, stifling a yawn.

Remus was just reaching for some toast when he paused, looking down the table.

Sausages and bacon, cooked tomatoes, mushrooms, beans, fried and scrambled eggs and hot buttered toast were spread along the Gryffindor table, but …

Remus sniffed.

He couldn't smell them. Well, actually he _could_ but only what was close to him. Strange. Twisting round in his seat he spotted some orange juice on the Ravenclaw table. He closed his eyes, focusing only on what he could smell, trying to detect the juice.

He couldn't smell anything.

Eyes snapping open, an odd feeling washed over him. What he could hear was strangely muffled and didn't Lily just say …

James and Lily watched in surprise as Remus suddenly bolted from the Hall.

*

Sirius made a speedy return to consciousness as someone or something shook him hard.

'Padfoot! Wake up!' Someone bellowed down his ear.

'Huh?' Bleary eyed, he sat up and stopped in mid yawn as he noticed Remus.

Completely breathless, Remus was fidgeting as though he had far too much energy. Bright eyes and a stunned half smile on his face made him temporarily unrecognisable.

'You okay, Moony?'

'Yes! Well, I think so. What about you?'

'Groggy.' He lay back on the pillows. 'Jeez, I feel rough.'

'Pretty normal for a werewolf.' Whispered Remus.

Sirius stared, open-mouthed.

*

It took a little while before the news sunk in. And although it seemed almost impossible, Sirius insisted that there was a simple test to prove that the spell _had_ succeeded.

He tried to transform. Without success.

'Remus, you try it.'

He looked a little nervous.

'Does it hurt?'

'Not at all.'

'But … h-how do I do it?'

'Just concentrate on changing. It's very quick so brace yourself.'

Remus nodded and closed his eyes.

__

Clear your mind … focus … focus … fur coat … long muzzle … pointed ears … four paws … tail …

With a violent jolt he found himself on all fours. He yelped in shock and fell over.

He'd done it.

Sirius laughed. 'Might take you a while to get used to it.' He shook his head. 'I can't believe it! It actually worked!'

Remus scrambled back up and trotted awkwardly over to the full-length mirror.

A large shaggy black dog looked back at him, tail wagging, pink tongue lolling out of a long narrow muzzle. He looked over his shoulder at Sirius. He whimpered.

'Oh, you wanna change back?'

Nod.

'Easy, just concentrate on your human form.'

Fast as blinking, Remus stood in front of him. Well … almost. Finding himself back on two legs, he had to grab the nearest bed for support.

'Wow!' was all he could say.

*

Sirius was having a mixed reaction to his new werewolf status. His senses seemed to open up to the world. His hearing was much sharper and although Remus did make him swear that he wouldn't eavesdrop on private conversations, it wasn't easy. Remus had had several years to get used to such powerful senses. Sirius had to try and get the hang of it in a few short hours. Hearing, however, wasn't the problem.

'Gross! Something here _reeks!_'

'What does it smell like?'

'Not sure. Reminds me of cheese. Mouldy cheese.'

'Ah, most likely that's the pile of dirty socks under one of the second years beds.'

'Yuck!'

'My thought exactly. Oh, and you might want to stay away from the Quidditch changing rooms.'

'That bad?'

'Worse.'

'I'll take your word for it.'

Unfortunately, even though the prospect of hyper senses was fun, Sirius couldn't get worked up enough to think of a way to use them in a prank of some sort. He had a headache that wouldn't go away despite asking Madam Pomfrey for some aspirin. Spending the day in a state of lethargy wasn't what he'd bargained for.

Is this what Moony went through every month? He knew Remus got rather sickly around the full moon but he never could image what it was really like.

When he wasn't helping Sirius to adjust, Remus was determinedly having fun. For the first time in his life he felt he could do anything he wanted without the worry of exhausting himself. Energy such as he'd never had before surged through his veins as he ran to the village with Lily and back again, put a group of third years through their paces on the Quidditch pitch and won an hour and a half long snowball fight.

James, when he wasn't giving his whole attention to Lily, was (without question) getting suspicious. Who could blame him? Remus was hyperactive and apparently in perfect health while Sirius looked half asleep and strangely subdued.

Many of the other students who had opted to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas were quick to comment on the 'switch in character'.

No one realised quite how accurate that statement was.

But it certainly gave James something to think about.

*

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To Be Continued …

*

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Authors notes

You know what? It was very lucky that I was sitting down when I checked the number of reviews I'd received otherwise I think I would have fainted! My eternal thanks to you all!! You've made me one very happy … no … ecstatic author!!! :D

*claps lots* Yay! Chocolate frogs all round for the eagle-eyed readers MagicisinmyName, bluemeanies _and_ Lady Lupin _who all noticed how ill Sirius was feeling and what it meant! *claps until hands go numb*_

Erin; _Sooo glad that someone liked the chanting! I was very worried about that bit!_

Ithica; _Um … thanks for your comments! Certainly made me laugh! :D_

And I'm sorry this chapter was so short. Chapter six should make up for it though! 

Next chapter will be up on Friday. The night of the full moon arrives!

*

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Please Review!

All comments and constructive criticism are welcome.

**Thank you**


	6. Secrets Out

The Greatest Gift 

Chapter Six; Secrets Out 

_~ There are limits to our friendship – the sky._

_                                                                        Linda MacFarlane~_

The Christmas feast at Hogwarts was always a spectacular sight.  At least a dozen beautifully decorated trees were positioned around the Hall, holly was strung across the enchanted ceiling and small clumps of mistletoe floated through the air, occasionally honing in on couples about to kiss.  A small group of them hovered for several minutes over the heads of James and Lily until they took the hint.

Numerous Dr Filibuster No-Heat Wet-Start Fireworks kept going off at regular interval in showers of red, green and white.  Students even received carol singing cards, making a mismatched choir of Jingle Bells, Silent Night and Deck the Halls.  Clouds of coloured smoke accompanied by cannon blasts also added to the noise as wizard crackers were pulled.

Sirius sat with his hands over his ears, half wishing that he'd just go deaf to avoid the horrendous noise levels.  It wasn't making his headache any easier to bear.

Remus was still not used to ordinary human hearing anymore than Sirius was to a lycanthropes.  He felt like he _was _deaf, constantly asking people to repeat what they said to him.  A few students asked if he was coming down with a cold because he kept sniffing.  In truth, Remus was simply uneasy with being unable to smell anything more than a few feet from him.

For Sirius, the overwhelming aroma of the feast combined with the kitchen smell below was almost enough to knock him unconscious.  Within minutes he conjured invisible nose plugs, making him sound as though he had a cold as well.

The Gryffindors always waited until the evening before swapping gifts.  The Marauders retreated to the boys' dormitory, sharing mince pies as they opened their presents.

Lily's face lit up just like the Christmas tree lights when she unwrapped the snow globe.

'It's beautiful!  Thank you, Remus!'  She gave him a hug and planted a kiss on his cheek.

'Careful,' Sirius warned from his place on the windowsill.  'Don't want to make Lover-Boy jealous now, do you?'

'Hey, I can kiss my male friends if I want to.'  She protested mildly, smiling at James who gave a lopsided smile back.

Sirius perked up.

'Can I have that in writing?'

Lily made a show of looking confused.

'Since when have I ever considered you a friend, Sirius?'

'Ha, ha, very funny,' he produced a sprig of mistletoe and held it up.  'Come on!  Remus got one, why can't I?'

'And me?' asked Peter hopefully.

James put an arm around Lily's waist and pulled her close.

'Sorry guys, she's mine.'

'Stingy,' muttered Sirius, glaring at Remus.

Peter grabbed another mince pie and shoved it in his mouth.  'We finished?' he asked, pointing at the huge mound of discarded wrapping paper on the floor.

'Think so,' said James.

'No, wait a minute,' said Lily.  'Remus hasn't had one from Sirius yet.'  She turned to Sirius who gave her a mildly confused look.  'Well?'

Sirius and Remus exchanged a look.

'Want me to tell them?' Remus asked.

'Tell us what? James looked suspicious.

Sirius gave a sly smile.  'Maybe it would be easier if you _showed_ them.'

'Showed us what?' Lily asked impatiently.

*

'You did _WHAT?_'

Sirius couldn't stop laughing at the look of shock that had taken over James' face when Remus transformed into a large black dog.

Peter had started choking on a mince pie until Lily thumped him hard on the back, but she too, was staring open mouthed in amazement. 

Remus changed back and calmly explained what they'd done.

'So … you're … human?'  Lily was eyeing Remus almost cautiously, as though she wasn't quite convinced.

Remus just smiled and nodded.

James didn't seem to have any idea what to say.

'I can't believe you did it,' he murmured.  'It's not permanent, is it?'

'No,' Sirius shook his head.  'It'll reverse itself by the twenty-seventh.'

James looked troubled but didn't say anything else.

'You'd better go down to the shack soon,' said Lily.  'The sun will set in an hour.'

*

Sirius, James and Peter, huddled under the Invisibility cloak, slowly and carefully tiptoed across the deserted Entrance Hall, slipped out the front doors and headed for the Whomping Willow.  Ahead of them were Madam Pomfrey and Remus.  Madam Pomfrey never permitted Remus to go to and from the Willows passage by himself.  She took her responsibilities very seriously indeed.  There was still a good half hour before the moon rose.  Plenty of time.

When they were nearly within range of the savage branches, Madam Pomfrey drew out her wand, taking careful aim.  The wand telescoped out until it was over a metre long and struck the knot on the trunk.  Instantly, the tree froze, its long branches still as stone.

The rest of the Marauders hung back as Remus hurried to the mouth of the tunnel, ducking under the branches.

'Remember, Mr Lupin, if you don't feel strong enough, _don't_ go down the passage.  I'll fetch you from the Shack.'  Madam Pomfrey called after him.

Remus nodded, turned and disappeared down the tunnel.  Moments later the Willow waved its branches threateningly at the Matron, who gave it a cold stare before turning on her heel and heading back to the castle.

Squinting through the darkness, they waited until the Matron had passed through the front doors into the castle, and then raced for the Willow.

'Wormtail,' James hissed.

In the blink of an eye, a fat grey rat appeared at their feet and darted to the tree trunk, running beneath the swaying branches, just out of reach.  Nimble climber that he was, Wormtail scrambled up the sloping trunk and head butted the knot.

Once again the tree froze.  James and Sirius dived down between the roots, Wormtail leaping onto James' shoulder as he passed.  Feet first, they slid down the earthy slope, coming to a halt at Remus' feet.

'Come on, we have to hurry.'

They set off at a run, keeping their heads down to avoid the low ceiling, Wormtail clinging to James' robes.

*

Sirius was alternatively pacing and standing stock-still, unsure of himself.  Remus hung back, watching him, a sinking feeling in his stomach and a heavy weight on his chest.  Should he say something?  That he'll be fine?  It'll be over soon?  Maybe tell him what the change was like?  What to expect?

Perhaps he was better off not knowing.

Sirius was looking at him.  Did he want to know?  Or was he looking for reassurance?

_Maybe I should have said something sooner._

'The transformation only takes about ten seconds,' Remus said in a would-be-calm voice.  'And … it does hurt - but it'll pass.'  _Eventually_ he added silently.

Sirius nodded glumly as if he'd heard him.  He was breathing deeply with every appearance of calm, were he not abnormally pale and shivering slightly.

Then it began.

Sirius' entire body went ridged, limbs shaking violently.  The others backed away slowly, giving him room.  Remus counted off the seconds in his head.

One … two … 

Wide eyed, Sirius stared as brown-grey fur grew out of the backs of his hands.

Three … four … five … 

His hands morphed.  The fingers shortening, nails turning black and curling into deadly sharp claws.

Six … seven … 

With a shout of pain, Sirius fell onto all fours as his knees reversed.  His face elongated into a long muzzle.  His teeth growing huge and razor sharp.

Eight … nine … 

Fur rippled up and down his growing form; thick, dense and dark in colour.  Pointed ears pushed their way up the side of his head.

Ten … eleven … 

The long plumed tail shot out of his spine.  Throwing his head back, Sirius let out a howl of agony.

Twelve … thirteen … 

What was taking so long?  It was _never _this long for Remus, why was it … _It's just like my dream_ he realised with a scary jolt.

Almost done, the wolfs head turned, eyes focusing on Remus.  They were still the deep chocolate brown of his human self.

_I'm sorry, Sirius._

The colour brightened to glowing amber.  The transformation was complete.

Teeth bared and snarling, the huge wolf made a sudden lunge for Remus.

Something large collided with the wolf, bowling it over.  With a growl of fury, the wolf scrambled to its feet and slashed at the stag, which lowered its antlers again, ready for another attack.

Remus stared transfixed until Wormtail leapt up in his face, squeaking madly.  Coming to his senses at last, Remus concentrated.

The sudden lack of humans in the room seemed to puzzle the werewolf.  Turning its head this and that, sniffing for the human.  Prongs approached him cautiously; nudging him gently with the antlers he'd attacked him with barely a minute ago.  Wormtail scurried over, standing up on his hind legs, whiskers twitching.  The wolf leaned down to sniff the rat then turned to smell the stag, growling softly.

Then, ever so slowly, the black dog stepped forward, a little unsure.  Head lowered, he gave a small whine, tail wagging hopefully.

The wolf took a step towards him, curious.

Remus almost drew back but determinedly held his ground.  While in this form, Sirius couldn't recognise him.  Have to be very careful not to make any sudden movements he might interpret as a threat.

With that in mind, Remus dropped into a bow position and barked.

Play? 

To his immense relief (and Prongs and Wormtail no doubt) the wolf crouched as well, tail wagging.  They were acceptable.

Within seconds, all the Marauders were tearing through the Shack, racing each other, occasionally pausing to play fight.  Poor Wormtail got stepped on so many times that Prongs picked him up and placed him on his back.  The little rat dug his sharp little nails in as Prongs took a flying leap back down the stairs.

But the walls were too restricting.  There just wasn't enough room.  Sirius was soon getting agitated, snapping and snarling at the others.  Several times he approached the windows, smelling the night air and clawing at the magically enforced barriers.

Remus and Prongs exchanged a look and a nod.  Barking to get his attention, Remus dashed away to the tunnel mouth, Prongs and Wormtail beside him.  Sirius leapt after them down the tunnel, back to Hogwarts.

*

On the battlements overlooking the front lawns, a raven was perched.  Dark as the night sky, it was almost invisible but for its eyes.  Fathomless orbs of swirling white mist cast an impenetrable stare over the grounds below.

Watching.  And waiting.

*

'Okay, Lily, this probably isn't one of your best ideas,' she muttered to herself as she snuck down the marble staircase into the Entrance Hall.

She wasn't too worried about being seen; she was using a Chameleon Charm.  Not quite as good as an Invisibility Cloak but it did serve the purpose of getting her out of the castle unseen.  But, as whenever she bent the rules, however slightly, there was always the nagging doubt of getting caught.  What would everyone think if Lily Evans, Head Girl of Hogwarts, was caught out of her dormitory in the middle of the night with the intent of leaving the castle on her own, with a broomstick she'd 'borrowed' from another student while casting magic in the corridors?

_If Filch catches me, I'm dead!  He'll probably hang me by those chains in his office!_  She shuddered.  _James, you guys will owe me _big_ time_!

It certainly wasn't the cleverest thing she'd ever done but, in her opinion, she had good reason; she was worried sick about her friends.

Sirius and Remus had gone and done some twisted version of a Switching-Metamorphosis-Transfiguration spell turning Sirius into a werewolf and Remus into an Animagus.  And they hadn't said a word about it until a few hours ago.  Needless to say, it was a bit of a shock.

Now that she'd had time to think about it, something just didn't ring true on this.  Any spell capable of doing such a feat had to draw on a lot of magical energy from a wizard.  From Sirius' vague 'explanations' it was quite ancient for a spell.  There was no need of wands, which was really only a tool for channelling a witch or wizards own magical power.  Wandless magic was, at best, complicated and very unpredictable.  Apparating was the most common use of wandless magic and certainly not the easiest thing to master.  Many people had problems with it and never succeeded in passing their test.

So how was it possible for two seventeen-year-old unqualified wizards to successfully perform such a complex piece of wandless magic?  Surely it wasn't very safe?  If at all.  Sounded far too much like Dark Magic for Lily's liking.

So she made the decision to go and keep an eye on the boys.  She wasn't sure what good it would it do but at least she wouldn't be lying in bed just worrying about them.  Quiet as a mouse, Lily eased open the front doors, slipped outside and mounted the broomstick.

The Whomping Willow swayed in the gentle night breeze, its long branches highlighted by the moon.  _Looks harmless enough_ Lily mused as she flew over the snow coated lawns towards it.  _But looks can be deceiving, can't they?_

Hovering just out of reach of the branches, she waited.

*

Trapped!

That was how he felt.  The earthy walls of the low tunnel pressing in on him from all sides.  It wasn't safe.  He needed space … space to move … to run … to play.  To hunt.

The scent came on a chance breeze, enticing his mind with visions of blood, meat and human flesh.  The werewolf was hungry.  He craved food.

He could not harm the creatures that ran with him, this much he knew.  They were like him.  The largest of the three led the way down the tunnel.  Towards the scent of prey.  But the antlered beast was no predator, he could not sense it.  Nor could the small grey rodent that rode upon its back.

The other one, wolf-like but smaller, darker, would he join the wolf in the hunt?  The thrill of the chase was one that all should take pleasure in.  But first, the prey must be found.

And the werewolf emerged from the tunnel.

*

Lily's breath caught in her throat as a huge red-brown stag came bounding out from under the Willow.  James.  Even in that form he was still the young man she'd grown to love.  Something about the stag made it not so much a different side of James but more of a portrait of him.  It was what he was, in essence.

During their search for the complete works of Animagus Transformations, Lily had come across the actual meaning of the name.  It meant soul of a wizard.  Or possibly mind of a wizard.  

The stag stood still, looking back at the Willow.  Tall and graceful.  A powerful athletic stance.  An aura of strength and power seemed to emanate from him yet at the same time appear gentle and kind.  A noble creature.  All it represented, reflected in James.

Through the darkness Lily could make out Peter, or Wormtail as they insisted on calling him, on the stags back, clinging on for dear life after the mad dash up the tunnel.  Why a rat Lily had wondered on numerous occasions.  She'd never been able to figure that one out.  Maybe it had something to do with him being rather timid and twitchy.  She wasn't sure.

Sirius however was easier to figure out.  A dog; symbol of loyalty and trust, definitely his strongest traits.  A bubbly personality and boundless energy to match.  What better form could he possibly take?

Not a wolf.

She couldn't believe it, even as a huge grey wolf slunk out from under the Willow, a black dog at its side.  _How_ had they done it?  It was hard to look at the wolf and to think that it was Sirius, not Remus.

She squinted at them, leaning forward.  They _looked _okay.  No obvious injuries.  No sooner had the thought crossed her mind that the wolf charged at the stag.  Automatically, her hand went for her wand with the intention of casting a protective barrier over James.  Then she reminded herself that they were only playing around.  None of them would deliberately harm another.  Besides, if things _did _get out of hand, unlikely as that was, they knew how to take care of themselves.

Lily sat back on her broom, tucking her wand back inside her robes.  Down below, the Marauders stopped their fight as Sirius bounded back towards the Willow.  The branches lashed out, catching him across the muzzle.  Angrily, he snapped at the tree but stepped back.  Prongs lowered his head and bellowed at the wolf, the dog barking loudly, trying to get Sirius to move away.  But Sirius' attention was held by something else.  Nose in the air, he moved first to the left of the Willow, then to the right, sniffing at the air.  Lily froze as his amber eyes suddenly locked onto her own.  It was _her_ he could smell.  He couldn't see her, the Chameleon Charm was still working fine, but he knew she was there.

Shaking, Lily quickly flew off in the direction of the greenhouses, watching Sirius over her shoulder.  Clearly confused, the wolf wandered through the snow, looking all around, his warm breath forming icy clouds as he tried to locate the source of the scent again.  Searching for his prey.

Remus ran to him, clearly recognising the danger signs and tugged hard on the wolfs tail with his teeth.  None too happy, Sirius whipped round and body slammed against the smaller canine, almost knocking him down.  Remus bolted up the lawns, ploughing through the snow.  Prongs followed, rearing and kicking.

The human scent forgotten, Sirius raced after them, caught up in the game.

Lily let out the breath she'd been holding the past minute or two.  Hovering between the greenhouses, she figured she would be safe for a while.  One of the greenhouses had a patch of aconite growing by the front door.  Also know as Wolfsbane, it could easily poison a werewolf if a large enough amount were to be consumed.  The smell itself should deter Sirius from coming too close.

_Better safe than sorry_ Lily thought as she unlocked the door and slipped inside.

*

_That was a bit close._  Remus slowed to a walk as they reached the Quidditch pitch.  Sirius was now quiet happy rolling around in the snow.  Well, it wasn't really Sirius, was it?  It was a wolf.  A wild animal with the instinct to hunt.  It worried Remus that the wolf had obviously detected some prey and had tried to seek it.  But the only thing that would interest a werewolf was a human.

Surely no one else was out on the grounds?  Anyone with an ounce of sense wouldn't go outside during a full moon.  But then again, none of the students knew there was a werewolf among them.  They weren't aware of any danger.

Prongs came over, lifting his hooves daintily out of the snow.  Wormtail had slid off his back and was currently stuck in one of Sirius' paw prints.  Sirius found it highly amusing to trap the rat by patting his huge paw down on top of him.

Silently, Prongs laid down in the snow, breathing heavily, huge bursts of warm breath clouding the air.  Remus sat beside him, wishing he could speak.  He wanted to say how much he appreciated all that they'd done for him.  They didn't have to do this.  It wasn't written in stone.

Remus shivered at the memories of past full moons.  Several times a play fight had gone too far.  Once or twice they'd gotten lost in the forest, the others getting in a panic over herding an uncooperative werewolf back to the Shack to transform, before Madam Pomfrey arrived …

_How did you guys manage?_  Remus wanted to ask.  _Would you'd have signed up for werewolf sitting if you knew how infuriating it would be?_

Prongs turned to look at him as if to say, _don't be stupid, you're no trouble at all._

_Liar, if Sirius is anything to go by._

Deciding he'd better move before his furry backside froze, Remus shook himself vigorously and ambled down the sloping lawn.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something flutter past the moon.  Turning, he could just make out the dark shape of a bird swooping down towards.  Odd.  It didn't look like an owl.

'Caw!  Caw!'

Okay, it definitely didn't _sound_ like an owl either.

The bird shot over his head, cawing loudly.  Sirius sat up (one paw still pinning Wormtail down) and growled.  Undaunted, the bird flapped in a jerky circle around the werewolf's head before hauling itself back the other way towards the front lawns.

With a huge leap, the wolf bounded after it.

Remus barked but Sirius ignored him.  He barked again, more insistently.

Yet the werewolf continued the chase, following the bird, which was heading for …

The front gates!

In a flash, both dog and stag pelted over the grounds after them.

*

Lily soared back over the lawns wondering what on earth had just happened.  A raven was manically flying over the front gate with a large werewolf right behind it.  Stupid bird.  Why didn't it fly higher up, out of reach?  It would be its own fault if Sirius caught it.  However, Sirius was now wriggling between the iron bars of the gate.  He was going to escape!

Grasping the broom handle firmly, Lily shot forward, trying to recall a Binding Spell.  Right below her ran James and Remus.  Those idiots!  Hadn't they been paying attention?

'Typical,' she muttered under her breath.

The raven was behaving _really _strangely, she noticed.  Sirius was still trying to squeeze through the gate, yet the bird was simply perched in a nearby tree, watching him.  Waiting.

'What the…'

That was no ordinary bird.  Its eyes were glowing white, blazing painfully through the darkness.  Freaky.

Lily shivered, really not wanting to go anywhere near it now… With a triumphant howl, the wolf escaped.  Prongs and Remus only just reached the gate as the raven took flight, luring Sirius away.

Remus easily slipped through the bars but James would never get through, not with that rack of antlers.  He transformed and was just about to follow Remus when –

'Can't trust you guys with anything, can I?'

'Lily!?'

James stumbled backwards, looking in every direction.  Remus changed back as well, confused as James.

'Where are you?'

'Right here,' Lily deactivated the Chameleon Charm, reappearing as she dismounted the broomstick beside James.

'Lily, what are doing out here?'  James asked.  'It's not safe.'

'Very true.  Especially when you've just let a werewolf loose!'  She snapped.  'Come on!  Don't stand there gawping like an idiot.  Peter, hurry up!'

Peter came stumbling up to them, completely out of breath and clutching a stitch in his side.

'Lily?  How … where …'

'Questions later.  Get on.  We've got a werewolf to catch.'  She tossed the broom to him then climbed through the gate, James followed, transformed and knelt to allow her to climb onto his back.

Remus changed and raced down the driveway with them, Peter flying overhead.

'Where is he?  I can't see him!'  Lily shouted.

'I can,' Peter swooped down to fly alongside them.  'He's heading for Hogsmeade.'

'You'll be quicker than us, go on ahead and _stay_ with him!'

'Right.'

Fast as he dared, Peter sped away into the darkness.  Running at full tilt, they reached the outskirts of Hogsmeade in less than five minutes.  James slowed down and stopped.  Panting, Remus skidded to a halt as well.  Lily stared.

'What's going on?'

The village of Hogsmeade wasn't the quiet and sleepy place you'd expect in the middle of the night.  Fairy lights blazed through the dark in a haze of colour.  Floating candles and lanterns could be seen in the distance as well as a gigantic Christmas tree with a glowing star on top.  What looked like the entire population of Hogsmeade were gathered around the tree singing Christmas carols, their voices carrying on the wind to where the Marauders stood on the edge of the village.

Sirius was nowhere in sight.

'Oh jeez,' Lily groaned, sliding off the stags back.  'I completely forgot about this.  The villagers are going to be up all night celebrating.'

'_All_ night?' James demanded as he and Remus became human again.

Lily nodded.

'Oh, this is great,' Remus groaned.  'First Sirius leaves the school grounds, _then_ we lose him in a highly populated area!'

'Remus, this isn't a good time to panic,' James said calmly.  'I doubt he's gotten far.'

At that very moment, Peter fell out of the air into a snowdrift beside them.  The broom landed handle first next to him as he clambered up.

'I'm so sorry!' he wailed.  'I lost him!'

'What!  Where did you last see him?' Remus demanded.

'Near the village square,' Peter whimpered, pointing towards the mass of people gathered round the tree in the centre.

'Oh no.' Lily whispered.

James turned to Remus.

'Okay, _now_ is a good time to panic.'

*

To Be Continued! 

*

**Please Review!**

**All comments and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated**.


	7. Soul Fire

****

The Greatest Gift

Chapter Seven; Soul Fire

__

~ There is nothing we like to see so much as the gleam of pleasure in a persons eye when he feels that we have sympathized, understood, interested ourselves in his welfare. At these moments something fine and spiritual passes between two friends. These are the moments worth living.

Don Marquis ~

Midnight.

The ancient grandfather clock chimed the hour, the dull gongs echoing into the dust clogged air. 

In the backroom a cauldron sat in the fireplace, a thick grey-green potion bubbling and frothing.

Brow furrowed, the old woman bent close, dipping a long ladle slowly into the boiling liquid. 

Raising it to her nose, careful not to breathe too deeply, she took a delicate sniff.

Scowling, she reached for another sachet of powdered dragon teeth and a vial of black octopus ink, dark eyes following the directions on the crinkled, damp spotted pages of a spell book.

A chill breeze from the open window rustled the pages and rattled the open door of the empty birdcage.

*

Once again, Lily was using her Chameleon Charm to blend with the shadows, keeping close to the buildings around the edge of the village square. James followed close behind, also using the Charm. Working together, they concentrated on conjuring the strongest protection barriers they could manage, all the time on the lookout for any sign of a lost werewolf.

They'd split up. James and Lily in one group to protect the villagers, Remus and Peter in the other to try and find Sirius before he could hurt someone.

'Do you think they'll be alright?' James asked. 'I mean, I'm not sure if Remus is his normal level-headed self.'

'You're not wrong, but he _does _have a better chance of finding Sirius than we do.' said Lily. 'He knows how a werewolf behaves, what one is likely to do in this sort of situation. I'm sure he'll be fine.'

'With Wormtail?' James snorted. 'Don't like to say it but-'

'A jellyfish has more backbone?'

James cracked smile, sheepishly hiding it from Lily. 'So, _why _did you tell him to go with Moony?'

Lily rolled her eyes.

'Have you _seen_ his Barrier spells?'

She shook her head, raised her wand and sent a golden shimmering haze over the side entrance to the Three Broomsticks pub. A single spell had no hope of deterring a werewolf but she and James were being very thorough, covering the entire village centre. The singing crowd never even noticed the odd showers of sparks coming out of nowhere.

James frowned, watching them. So many of them together and vulnerable to attack.

So where was the werewolf?

*

Shrouded in the Invisibility Cloak, Peter ran through the streets, stumbling and slipping on the ice as he tried to keep up with Remus. Back in the guise of a black dog, Remus ran with his nose to the ground, tying to locate the scent of a werewolf. But he was finding it too difficult to concentrate what with panicked thoughts invading his mind.

__

Where are _you, Sirius? Lily and James, are they alright back there? What if we've missed Sirius completely and he's back there somewhere? What if we can't find him? What'll we do if someone gets hurt? _What if someone gets bitten? 

Remus tried to force himself to calm down. But it wasn't easy.

Why_ did I agree to this stupid spell? If I had just said no … but I didn't and now everyone here is in danger, Sirius is missing and it's all _my_ fault!_

Wormtail was still apologising, his squeaky voice grinding his nerves.

'It was _so _quick - he was there one second - gone the next! I'm _really_ sorry -'

'Peter, will you _stop_ saying you're sorry?' Remus snapped as he changed back into human form. 

'It's not your fault.' he sighed, looking up and down the dark and deserted street.

All the shops here were closed for the night. Not a sign of life anywhere. Deep trenches in the snow were devoid of animal prints. There was nothing to indicate that Sirius had come this way.

Peter was shivering, pulling the cloak more tightly around himself.

'Maybe we should go back,' he suggested timidly. 'If a were- werewolf hunts people -' his voice quivered. '… sh-shouldn't Sirius be back that way?'

Remus frowned.

'You'd think that … with so many people around … he'd have to be blind not to go straight for them …' He trailed off, thinking hard.

Why _wasn't_ Sirius near the square? There were so many people there, _how_ could he resist? He wasn't behaving like an ordinary werewolf … not since that bird -

'Peter, give me that broom.'

A little surprised at his hard tone, Peter obediently passed him the broomstick from under the Cloak. Remus swung a leg over and kicked off from the ground, soaring above the buildings, looking around in all directions.

'Err … Moony?' Peter called nervously. 'What are you doing?'

Remus didn't answer. He flew in a lazy circle over the area, scrutinizing every shadow. Ignoring Peters anxious inquiries, he flew back and forth over several streets before swooping back down again.

Peter pulled the Cloak off his head, looking sulky.

'I wish you guys wouldn't _do_ that; leave me here on my own,' he looked worried again. 'Did you see him?'

Sadly, Remus shook his head.

'No sign of him anywhere. No sign of that bird either.'

Peter raised an eyebrow.

'What bird?'

*

'Didn't you see it?'

James nodded.

'Yeah, what about it?'

'Well, apart from the fact that it's very rare for a diurnal bird to be flying around in the dark when 

it can't see … it's eyes were glowing … bright white … it looked _really_ creepy,' Lily shivered. 'I didn't want to go near it.'

With a dramatic sweep of her wand, she cast another Shield Charm.

'I think that's every part of the square covered,' said James, looking satisfied. 'If Sirius tries anything he'll be hard pushed to get through all of these.'

'We hope,' said Lily, holding up her hand, fingers crossed. 'But don't you think he'd have done it by now? Attacked them?'

'I'm not sure. Maybe he's still chasing that bird.'

'He wasn't chasing it, James.' Lily insisted. 'A werewolf doesn't hunt anything but humans, you _know_ that.'

'What are you saying?'

'That that bird _deliberately_ led him away.'

James blanched.

'But … why?'

*

'I think _'who' _is the more pressing question,' Remus muttered, pacing up and down. 'That raven must belong to someone. There aren't any wild ones around here.'

'Oh!' Peter perked up, waving his hands excitedly. 'I've just remembered! There's some crazy old lady around here who has a big black bird. She owns a shop -'

'Where?'

'Um … near Dervish and Banges, I think.'

Remus set off at a sprint, Peter at his heels.

'Shouldn't - we - tell - Lily - and - James?' he gasped between breaths.

Peter almost crashed into him as Remus skidded to a halt.

'You're right - here,' he handed Peter the broom. 'You go find them, they should've finished by now. They're probably looking for us.'

Nodding, Peter mounted the broom.

'The shop's just down an alley near the bakers,' he said sullenly. 'Not sure what it's called … Grim-something-or-other.'

'Okay, now go.'

As Peter took off, a large shaggy black dog raced up the street, flittering through the shadows.

*

'You idiotic bird!'

Crash!

The crystal vial shattered against the cage, narrowly missing the raven as it beat its wings against the bars.

'I sent you to fetch me a _human_, damn it!' the old woman screeched, her face leering at the terrified bird. 'Does _that_ look like a human to you?' She pointed a withered hand at the large iron cage that stood in the corner.

Inside was a werewolf. Immobilised by the Full Body-Bind, the wolf lay on its side, growling deep in its throat, hungrily eyeing the old woman as she took her fury out on her pet.

'You have disappointed me, Poe,' she hissed.

The raven hung its head, cowering in the far corner of its cage.

The woman spun on her heel, robes swirling, to face the wolf. Slowly she approached, kneeling beside the cage. The wolf struggled, straining to get at her.

'Be still,' she cooed, reaching through the bars with a bony hand.

Her talon-like nails combed through the thick grey fur. His ears flattened against his head and the growling became louder, deeper. The amber eyes blazed with a mixture of hatred and hunger.

Looking deep into the wolfs eyes, the old woman frowned, slightly confused. Drawing her wand, she waved it slowly over the beasts paralysed form, muttering a spell.

A shimmering haze of green and blue clouded his form. The colour remained constant for a few seconds before flickering to black and purple then back again. The pattern repeated itself several times, the woman not taking her eyes off it.

Poe peered curiously out from his cage, but kept his distance.

The odd light display must have meant something to her because her face split into a wide exalted smile.

'Oh … you _are_ the one I want,' she whispered gleefully. 'Poor boy,' she patted his head without a trace of sincerity. 'Bitten off a little more than you can chew, hmm? No matter, it makes little difference, the result will be the same,'

Enraged by her touch the wolf thrashed violently, fighting the Bind.

'Now, now, there's no need for that,' the woman scowled. 'I'm not going to hurt you … yet.'

*

Moving on all fours was definitely a lot easier than on two, Remus had decided. Certainly you were better balanced and undeniably faster. He almost envied Sirius and James. They could transform at will whereas he was restricted to the moon phases. He looked up at it, glowing brightly down on him. It gave him an odd feeling, to look up at it, knowing that it didn't control him. Not tonight.

Each huge stride propelled him up the street with lightning speed, racing towards the bakers. He knew where that was … he just couldn't remember ever seeing a shop down the nearby alley. Well, if Peter said it was there it must be - 

There.

Tucked away, just out of sight of the main street, was a tiny, grubby looking shop. The cracked sign over the door read; _Grimoire's Cove_, in peeling letters. The windows were thick with dirt but dark silhouettes could be made out by the dim flickering light inside.

Hesitating only for a second, Remus cautiously walked towards the door. Giving the door a gentle nudge with his shoulder, it creaked slowly open a few inches.

The tiny shop was full of shadows cast by a number of flickering black candles. The air was thick with dust and stank of mould. Hollow eyes of tribal masks leered down from the walls.

A shiver ran up his spine as Remus contemplated whether or not to enter the shop.

__

Come on, Moony, he told himself sternly. _You're a Gryffindor. Act like it!_

Shouldering the door open a little more, he stepped inside, and a dull bell sounded loudly causing him to jump out of his skin! He froze, listening for anything other than his pounding heart and rapid breathing.

Footsteps. Slow and heavy, coming from behind a door at the back of the shop.

Remus hurried on his padded feet to a large table displaying crystal balls. Draped over the surface was a black silk cloth that hung to the floor. Fast as he could, Remus wriggled underneath and lay still, holding his tail close to his body.

The back door swung open and a sliver of pale light fell across the floor, highlighting the dust. A dark shadow sliced through it, reaching towards his hiding place. Slow, steady footsteps echoed on the cold stone floor, making their way over to the front door.

'Hello?'

A woman's voice, hoarse and distinct with age.

Remus stuck his head out, craning his neck to see.

The woman was standing in the open doorway, looking up and down the alley, her wand in hand and a most ill-natured expression on her face.

The back door was wide open, the watery light straining against the darkness.

Step-by-step Remus crept out of hiding, slunk behind a set of bookshelves and stopped, watching the woman. She turned. Jerking back, Remus pressed up against the books, trying to make himself as small as possible.

'Poe! Come here, now!'

A rustle of feathers came from the back room and a raven emerged. It flew to the woman, landing on her outstretched hand.

'Come, my pet. Someone is lurking nearby …' she stroked the birds glossy plumage. 'Find him … redeem yourself in my eyes …'

Remus stared as the ravens eyes glowed a misty white. Spreading its huge wings, the bird flew out the door and into the night. The woman reached for a thick cloak hanging on the inside of the door, pulled it on and stepped outside.

The moment she was out of sight, Remus made a break for the back room.

Along one wall was a small fireplace that held a cauldron of a foul smelling potion, the fumes wafting through the air. The shattered remains of a crystal vial lay beneath a tall stand and birdcage. And on the other side of the room was -

__

Sirius!

He rushed over to the cage.

The wolf tilted its head, tail wagging. But he couldn't stand, his body shuddering as he tried to move.

Remus gave a low bark, _Stay still._

Sirius relaxed, amber eyes fixed on Remus.

Taking a deep breath, Remus transformed.

A low growl rumbled from the depths of the wolfs throat but something flickered in his eyes and his tail thumped harder against the floor.

Could Sirius … no, surely not.

'Padfoot?' he whispered, uncertainly. 'Do you … know me?'

The wolf continued to watch him, the growling ceased.

No, it wasn't possible. Sirius couldn't recognise him.

Slowly, Remus drew his wand and performed the counter-curse. Free of the Bind, Sirius scrambled to his feet and stuck his muzzle through the bars. Hastily, Remus drew back, yet Sirius made no move to attack him. Instead he gave a soft whimper, raising a paw to the bars.

Biting his lip, Remus' eyes darted to the cage door. A rusty padlock and chain securing it. He rattled it hard. Nope, definitely locked. He aimed his wand.

'_Alohomora!_'

The padlock didn't budge. It was still locked. Damn, he needed a stronger spell, or possibly the key.

Just as he made to get up, however, Sirius snarled furiously, baring his teeth. Before Remus could move someone grabbed him from behind, yanking him up onto his feet and away from Sirius. Opening his mouth to shout, a large hand clamped over his face, muffling the sound. He tried to lash out, to kick, but whoever was holding him was so much stronger than he was, pinning his arms to his sides and his body to his assailants chest.

With a roar of fury, Sirius slammed against the bars of his cage, clawing furiously.

Remus struggled, the mans grip tightened painfully. Chest tight from lack of air, Remus stopped and tried to calm down.

'That's better,' hissed a deep voice by his ear. 'Don't try anything stupid and you won't get hurt,'

__

Why don't I believe that? Remus wondered, starting to shiver from nerves.

'Efrit, must you be so rude to our guest?'

The man turned, pulling Remus with him. The old woman was back, standing in the doorway, a hideous smile on her wrinkled face, dark eyes fixed unblinkingly on Remus. The raven sat on her shoulder, beady eyes also watching him, the white glow fading to black.

'Little brat was snooping around,' Efrit grunted. 'Trying to let that wolf out.'

'Were you now?' she walked up to Remus, still smiling. 'Surely you know better than that, my child. After all … we don't want any accidents now, do we?'

With an almost careless wave of her hand, Sirius' growls were silenced. He whimpered, drawing back into the furthest corner and cowered there. Then she gave Efrit a pointed look, who, reluctantly, let go of Remus.

Remus stumbled, regaining his footing. For a fleeting instant he did consider running for it, but Sirius was still trapped. He _had_ to get him out.

Efrit stepped into view. He was at least six feet tall, dressed in long black robes and a flowing black cloak, the hood casting a deep shadow over his face, but Remus could see that he also wore a mask.

But despite Efrits sinister appearance, Remus was more shaken by the woman's presence. He couldn't stop shivering. It was so strange, so un-nerving. She looked like she could be someone's grandmother.

Someone's _evil _grandmother.

'Sit.'

The old woman pointed to a wooden chair that stood beside the birdcage. On shaking legs Remus walked over to it and sat down nervously, facing them both. The woman snapped her fingers and thick ropes wrapped themselves around his ankles, tying them to the chair legs. His hands were roughly pulled behind his back and also bound. Finally, a wad of soft material forced its way into his mouth, gagging him.

'There now, you sit quietly, my dear. Efrit and I have business to discuss. Poe,' the raven perked up. 'Watch him.'

The bird nodded and flew over to its cage, perching just above his head, cawing and furling its wings.

The woman left the room. Efrit followed, his dark cloak billowing out behind him. He pulled the door over but it didn't quite shut.

Frantically, Remus tried to move but the ropes tightened as he did so. He gave a small whimper of pain as the ropes pinched. The cloth in his mouth tasted salty, it made him feel ill yet was unable to spit it out.

He was well and truly stuck. _Now _what was he going to do?

Angry voices drifted in from the other side of the door. Straining to hear, Remus closed his eyes to avoid distractions.

'You're early. It is not ready.'

'You were told to have it finished before sunup.'

'The sun will not rise for hours yet!' the woman's voice snapped.

'My master does not like to be kept waiting, Medea,' Efrits voice was cold and ominous. 'I have been ordered to fetch him a soul and I will _not_ leave empty-handed.'

__

Who? What?

Medea was clearly becoming agitated.

'If your master would kindly exercise a little patience, I can supply him with two.'

Remus' eyes snapped open, darting to Sirius. The werewolf had come out of the corner and was watching Remus uncertainly, though sitting quite calmly.

'You intend to use the boy?'

'And the wolf.'

'What?' Efrit did _not_ sound pleased.

'Tis a werewolf,' her voice shook only slightly as she explained. 'He is young … came to my shop a few days ago …'

__

Oh heck! Was _this_ where Sirius had found that spell? His stomach clenched. Couldn't Sirius recognise Dark Magic when he saw it!? The wolf gave a plaintive whine, now trying to bite his way through the bars of his cage.

'His aura was that of a magically powerful child, yet I did not realise that he was also a shape-shifter. It does not matter for it may even enhance the effects-'

'My Lord demands the soul of a young wizard, one that will infuse him with the strength of youth - to aid his pursuit of immortality!' Furious pride vibrated in every syllable. 'And you seek to taint him with the soul of a _beast?_' he roared.

Medea muttered incoherently, clearly afraid.

Remus didn't feel sorry for her in the slightest. She'd deliberately targeted Sirius for kidnap and was planning to … what? Steal his soul? How was that possible?

Probably no more impossible than trading lycanthropy for an Animagus form come to think of it …

Remus felt sick. _They'd done Dark Magic! _He was sure of that now. _Why_ on earth had he gone ahead with it?

Medea suddenly cried out in pain and fright.

'Do _not_ argue with me,' Efrit growled menacingly. 'My Lord does not forgive failure easily, and nor do I. You'd do well to remember that.'

Remus closed his eyes again, head pounding. He couldn't do anything tied up like this. He'd never felt so helpless.

A small scuffling noise caught his attention. Slowly, he turned his head to look up at the raven. The bird had its back to him, helping itself to some seed in the corner of its cage. Twisting round a little more, Remus' heart gave a leap.

A fat grey rat was on the windowsill, squeezing through the open gap, beady eyes looking anxiously from the raven to Sirius then over to Remus.

Wormtail!

Remus could not have been more pleased to see him. If Wormtail was here, Lily and James couldn't be far off. Apparently, Sirius recognised his little rodent playmate from earlier that night. His tail wagged joyfully but he stayed silent, perhaps not wanting to alert the raven which Remus was more than thankful for.

Teetering for a moment on the edge of the sill, Wormtail leapt past the birdcage and landed on Remus' shoulder, scrambling to catch hold of his robes. Poe twisted round sharply, just as Wormtail dropped out of sight into Remus' lap. Seeing nothing, the raven returned to his meal.

With a meaningful look at Wormtail, Remus indicated the raven with a slight jerk of his head, then at his pocket. Carefully, without making a sound, Wormtail stuck his head into his pocket, drew out his wand using his teeth, then, with some difficulty, leaned round the side of the chair and worked the wand into Remus' hands. Clutching his wand tightly, Remus did his best to aim it at Poe who was oblivious to the action. Scrambling onto his shoulder, Wormtail reached out, snagged hold of the salty rag with his teeth and pulled.

Resisting the urge to spit, Remus whispered, _'Stupefy!'_

A flash of green light flared behind him. A soft flump indicated that the now stunned raven was no longer a problem.

Unfortunately …

'What was that?'

Efrit flung open the door, glaring suspiciously at Remus just as Wormtail dove deep into his pocket, bald tail whipping out of sight.

'Where did that light come from?' Efrit demanded.

Remus shrugged, hoping he didn't look guilty.

'Wait a minute …'

Efrit had noticed that he wasn't gagged anymore. He stormed across the room towards him. Fumbling with his wand, Remus lost his grip and dropped it. It hit the floor with a clatter, rolling across the floor.

__

Oh crap!

Efrit bent down and snatched it up, smiling unpleasantly. Through the mask, his cold blue eyes bored into Remus' own. He felt a horrible thrill of foreboding.

Efrit stepped in front of him, wand pointed at his chest.

'_Suffocare!_'

Remus choked, struggling to breathe. What felt like an invisible hand was clamped over his nose and mouth. Out of reflex he violently jerked his head, trying to gulp some air. It didn't help. He was suffocating. His vision blurred, darkness gathering at the edges. Lungs screaming and heart thundering painfully in his chest -

The pressure lifted. Remus slumped, gasping for breath. Efrit grabbed him roughly by his hair, yanking his head back, forcing Remus to look at him.

'Liked that did you?' Efrit snarled. Remus coughed weakly. 'You try anything else and that's what you'll get … see how long you can last-'

'Efrit!' Medea came striding back into the room, glaring somewhat like Professor McGonagall at the Death Eater. 'If you wish me to use the boy then I need him alive … preferably conscience.' she added coldly.

Efrit looked livid, but released his grip on Remus and stepped back.

'Get on with it then.' he snarled, folding his arms.

Sirius growled and snapped at him. Efrit hurriedly stepped away from the cage. Medea smirked as she went to the cauldron. Picking up a ladle, she dipped it slowly into the bubbling liquid, filling it to the brim. Carefully, so as not to spill even a drop, she brought it over to Remus.

'Come on, now, child,' she cooed sweetly. 'Open your mouth.'

Remus immediately clenched his teeth and flat out refused to open his mouth. He didn't know what effect that potion might have on him and he certainly didn't want to find out!

'Don't be stubborn, boy,' Medea hissed, forcing the ladle up against his lips. 'Drink it!'

Remus leaned back, trying hard not to lick his lips. Some of the potion dribbled down his chin. He wrinkled his nose in disgust, it smelt putrid!

Efrit lost patience. He stormed over, grabbed Remus' head, forcing it forward. 

'Open your mouth!' he growled, giving Remus a hard shake and pinching his nose.

Not having any time to recover from the Suffocation Spell, his lungs immediately started to ache again, demanding air. 

Unwillingly, his lips parted.

The ladle tipped-

Next moment, Medea let out a blood curdling scream, lurching away from Remus and Efrit, dropping the ladle, swatting, panic-stricken at a large grey rodent as it flew at her face, squeaking madly!

The ladle fell, spilling the potion across the floor. Remus jerked his head out of Efrits grasp and spat out a long stream of the potion, hacking fiercely. Efrit quickly took hold of him again, tilting his head back, trying to force him to swallow. With a thrill of horror, Remus felt a few drops of the vile liquid trickle down his throat.

He swallowed.

Looking grimly satisfied, Efrit let go of him, turning to glare disdainfully at Medea. She had managed to throw the rat off and was leaning against the fireplace, white and shaking. Wormtail, seemingly uninjured, streaked out the door, squealing his head off. The moment he disappeared, Medea let out a sigh of relief, one hand over her heart.

Still holding Remus' wand, Efrit advanced on Medea, kicking aside the ladle. It rolled up against Sirius' cage who stuck his nose into it, sniffing.

__

Oh dear God, Sirius don't drink it! Remus begged silently, feeling as though he were about to vomit, his stomach churning.

Efrit raised the wand.

'_Crucio!_'

Medea fell to her knees shrieking in pain, twitching convulsively. A sadistic laugh escaped the Death Eater as the woman stared, wide-eyed and fearful at him.

Remus winced and closed his eyes tightly, wishing he could block the horrendous cries, that sinister cackle, Sirius' frantic barks, the clatter of - _hooves?_

Remus barely had time to comprehend it when a huge red-brown stag burst into the room, almost knocking the door clean off its hinges. Head lowered, Prongs rammed his antlers into Efrits backside, bowling him over. Medea now lay still, face down on the floor. Was she conscience? Or had she fainted?

Efrit must have been trained in a martial art of some kind because he suddenly flipped back onto his feet and spun into a round-house kick forcing Prongs to stumble backwards out of range.

Remus was starting to feel dizzy. A strange burning sensation in the pit of his stomach.

Efrit was poised, ready for the stag to charge again. But Prongs stayed back, prancing to the left, to the right, feinting a lunge every few seconds, forcing Efrit to watch his every move. The Death Eater was having difficulty trying to guess when the stag would make an actual attack when he suddenly grunted in pain, doubling up and falling to his knees as though something had hit him.. Remus stared as the invisible force struck Efrit sharply between his legs! With a howl of agony he grabbed himself and slumped to the floor. The air beside him shimmered as Lily appeared, her wand pointed straight at the Death Eater.

James transformed and whipped out his wand.

'_Ligare!_' they shouted.

Thin cords burst from their wands, wrapping themselves tightly around Efrit. He lay on the floor (in considerable pain), swearing under his breath, murder in his eyes.

'Don't move.' James ordered coldly, stepping forward.

Lily turned to Remus and managed a small smile, very much relieved. 

'Sorry we took so long. You okay, Moony?'

Remus opened his mouth to say he was fine but a groan pain came out instead. The burning in his stomach was spreading. His heart thudded painfully as he broke out in a sweat.

Lily ran over to him.

'What happened?' she asked urgently, fumbling with the ropes.

'Potion …' he croaked, nodding at the cauldron. (His throat had gone very dry.) 'Sirius -'

The werewolf was scrabbling at the floor, snarling at Lily and James. James slowly approached the cage, eyeing the wolf cautiously before inspecting the lock.

'Alohomora didn't work,' said Remus as Lily loosened the ropes. 'Need something stronger.'

'Try the Liberation Enchantment,' Lily suggested as she pulled off the ropes and helped Remus to stand. 'That aught to do it.'

James nodded and raised his wand. Sirius growled, ready to pounce. Then Remus saw something move out of the corner of his eye -

'No! Wait!'

A blast of electric blue light shot across the room Striking James in the back. He fell to the floor, unconscious.

'James!'

Lily leapt up as Medea turned her wand on her and Remus.

'I _really_ don't have the time for such interruptions, girl,' she hissed, staring hypnotically into Lily's eyes. 'Drop your wand, now.'

Lily shuddered, then visibly relaxed, lowering her wand. It fell from her limp hand to the floor. She stood there, still and silent, eyes slightly unfocused.

'Good girl,' Medea smiled, then turned her attention to Efrit who was struggling against his bonds.

Snapping her fingers, the cords fell off him. Efrit slowly got back onto his feet. He looked angry enough to explode!

Remus' mind started buzzing. He couldn't think. His whole body went numb. The room seemed to tilt. Efrit grabbed him and _not_ to steady him.

'I'm _really_ losing my patience with you, boy,' Medea growled, surveying him coldly. 'If you'll just co-operate it'll be over quickly … don't fret, it won't hurt much.'

'Shame,' muttered Efrit. 'Now, _get on with it!_

Lip curling, Medea raised both her hands, holding them up before Remus, chanting in a strange eerie language Remus had never heard before.

A shiver went up his spine and the burning within him swelled, flaring intensely in response to the old woman's words. The air around him glowed, turning a deep shade of purple tinged with black, swirling like a semi-transparent shield over him. Through the haze, he saw the old woman's face fall. The colour blurred, shifting suddenly to blue-green then back again.

Medea's eyes widened in alarm.

'No,' she whispered, eyes darting to Sirius and back to Remus. 'No!'

'What is it _now?_' Efrit demanded. 'What are you waiting for? Take the soul!'

'I cannot!' she cried, backing away. 'His soul is … is fragmented!

'Is what?'

'The boy … and - and the wolf … their souls … are intertwined. There is a connection.' she shook her head worriedly. 'It's unstable … _very _dangerous - if I try to remove one -'

'If?' Efrit grabbed the woman roughly. 'My master wants that soul. You said you could supply him with one and he wants it _tonight! _Believe me, you don't want to make him wait any longer than necessary.'

Head throbbing, Remus tried desperately to make sense of what Medea had just said.

An unstable connection? Between him and Sirius? How did that happen? The only thing he could think of was the spell they'd performed. It _had_ swapped one aspect of each soul for another, hadn't it? 

But the spell didn't go as planned, did it? They hadn't been able to finish it - said the final words to seal the spell. Did that mean the spell wouldn't reverse itself? That it wasn't safe? To mis-cast a spell was bad enough but to leave it unfinished …

Visibly reluctant, Medea inched closer to him, raised her hands and took up the chant again.

The swirling haze of colour around him began to spin, faster and faster, blurring the colour, then -

Remus cried out as something surged through him. It was different from the sensation he'd felt when he and Sirius had performed the spell. This time there was an emptiness, a gaping hole left inside him. Cold and empty.

A horrendous, spine chilling howl erupted from behind them. Sirius was in a frenzy, slamming against the cage with all his strength. Clawing violently, eyes blazing and locked on the old woman. Medea stared back, paralysed with fear. Efrit backed away slowly as an indistinct cloud of blue-green began to appear over the werewolf. Medea's chanting faltered. A stern glare from the Death Eater ordered her to continue. She obeyed.

The pull jolted Remus' body mercilessly, sending him crashing to the floor in agony.

Lily stood back from them, still in a state of forced calm. But her face was twitching, her emerald green eyes wide and focused intensely on Sirius. Whatever hold Medea had on her, she was fighting it. One hand was straining to reach her pocket.

Another cry escaped Remus as the old woman spoke more insistently, making beckoning motions in the air … summoning his soul … determined to rip it from his body …

Something shifted … a chilling wave washed over him … the fire went cold …

CRASH!

Medea turned - the werewolf, free at last, lunged - the woman fell - the wolf went for her throat -

Lily screamed. Wide-eyed she stumbled backwards, clapping a hand over her mouth. The werewolf jerked his head up, amber eyes flashing, bright red blood dripping from his mouth. Rooted to the spot, Lily shook with fear as Sirius crouched then leaped straight at her, jaws open wide.

A dark shape dove past Lily and launched itself up at the wolf.

Slamming into each other in mid-air, the two canines crashed to the floor in a whirl of fur, teeth and claws.

Lily's eyes darted from the battle to the still form of Medea, over to James, still unconscious. Dare she run to him? Would that just draw the wolfs attention? Or would edging past slowly be more likely to alert him? Oh, sod it! Holding her breath she bolted past them both and dropped to her knees beside her boyfriend, drawing her wand.

'The canines broke apart, breathing heavily, growling at each other. Sirius hadn't taken more than a few deep scratches. His thick coat had protected his body from any serious clawing, although there was a nasty gash across his muzzle. Out of breath, he watched the black dog carefully, angry for his interruption of the hunt. He _must _be taught a lesson.

Yet the dog wouldn't back down. Hackles raised, holding his tail high, trying to stand tall despite favouring one foreleg. He barked a warning, keeping eye contact. The wolf could see that the smaller canine couldn't win this fight, so why was he even trying? He growled in reply, _back off! _To follow he feinted a lunge at the dog, snapping aggressively. The dog retreated and barked again. A challenge.

In a flash the wolf had the dog pinned down and sharply bit the nape of his neck. Not so much an attack as a warning. _Never defy me!_

Finally, the dog submitted to his dominance. Whining plaintively, he made no move to rise.

'_Impedimenta!_' 

The spell hit the wolf square in the back. He stumbled, turned to face this new threat.

James was on his feet (supported by Lily) with his wand trained on the wolf as it snarled, edging slowly nearer.

'_Impedimenta!_' he commanded again.

Striking the wolfs legs, it staggered. But he was completely fixated by the sight and smell of human prey. He opened his mouth, saliva dribbling from his jaw. Half paralysed he lurched forward. 

And Lily moved forward to meet him.

Thrusting her arm out, she shoved something straight down his throat, jerking her hand back as he snapped at her. James pulled her back, holding her protectively.

Puzzled by the strange substance in his mouth, the wolf chewed slowly. James and Lily both had their wands on him, both holding their breath. After what seemed to be ages, the werewolf finished chewing and swallowed. His legs went out from under him. He swayed as though drunk, making a weak attempt to stand before giving up and simply laid his head down on his paws, passive and quite.

Behind him, Remus transformed back to human. Lily skirted round the wolf and hurried over to him, white as a sheet. James conjured a thick muzzle over the wolfs snout, then joined them.

Remus spoke first.

'What - what did you just do to Sirius?' 

Lily gave a shaky smile. 'Force fed him some aconite.' she said. 'I took some from the greenhouses - don't worry it's nowhere near enough to poison him, though he will be a bit spaced out for a while. You okay?'

'Yeah, well … I hope so anyway. Prongs?'

'Been better,' he said. 'Now can one of you tell me what happened? Cos I'm missing five or ten minutes here.'

'That creepy witch was trying to cast some Dark Magic on Remus to steal his soul … I think,' she looked at Remus who nodded. 'Then Sirius got out, attacked her -' she broke off as Remus dashed past her, staring at the floor.

'Where is she?' he asked. 'She was right here …'

Lily's eyes swept the room, but there was no sigh of the old woman. 

She'd vanished.

'Did you see where that Death Eater went?' Remus asked nervously.

'What? That guy was a Death Eater?' James sounded horrified. Lily paled significantly. 

'Yeah,' said Remus. 'Under orders from his master to fetch a soul for him.'

'Whatever for?'

'He said something about immortality,' Remus sighed, looking towards the open door. 'He probably fled as soon as Sirius got out.'

'Damn it, we'll never catch him now.'

'James, you wouldn't actually go after him would you?' Lily sounded shocked. 'You could get hurt!'

'Well, if I were him, I'd have Apparated by now,' said Remus calmly. 'I doubt he'll come back any time soon.'

'Are you sure you're okay, Moony?' said Lily. 'What did that spell do to you? What happened exactly?'

Actually, I'm not sure,' he admitted. 'But I think that Sirius must have swallowed some of that potion,' he nodded at the cauldron, 'so when Medea started that spell it affected him as well - got him all worked up and he broke loose, attacked Medea, turned on Lily-'

'What! Are you alright? He didn't bite you, did he?'

'No, I'm fine.' she gave James a reassuring hug. 'Moony transformed and stopped him before he could get me.' she threw Remus an odd look. 'But _why _he didn't transform earlier-'

Remus squirmed guilty. 'It … er … didn't occur to me,'

James and Lily stared.

'I sorta forgot that I _could_ transform if I needed to.' he mumbled. 'I'm so used to the change occurring naturally, I didn't think about forcing it.'

'Well, never mind Moony,' Lily went over and gave him a swift hug. 'We're all safe now …' she turned, 'Hang on,'

'What?'

'Where's Peter?'

Quickly, they hurried into the shop.

'Peter!' Lily called.

'Wormtail, you in here?' James shouted.

There was no answer.

*

****

To be continued …

*

__

Authors notes

Hi everyone! Thank you all so much for the reviews! You have no idea how much I appreciate them! 

Anyway, the final chapter (yes, it will be the last one,) will be up this Friday. Hope you'll like it! :D

*

****

All comments and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated

Thank you.


	8. The Gift of Friendship

****

The Greatest Gift

Chapter Eight; The Gift of Friendship

__

~ Kind words of friends can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.

Mother Teresa~

'Peter!' Lily shouted again.

'Wormtail, can you hear me?' James yelled.

Still there was no answer. The shop was empty. Had something terrible happened to Peter? Maybe Efrit grabbed him on the way out? None of them spoke these thoughts aloud. There was no need.

They spread out. Lily got down on her hands and knees, peering under the counter and display tables.

'Wormtail?' she called, anxiously. 'It's safe to come out! Are you still in here?'

James ventured outside, shining his wand light across the snow, shouting through the wind.

Remus, however, calmly strolled around the shop, his sharp eyes sweeping the room. There were a lot of shiny patches on the floor showing up clearly against the dust. A scatter of tiny prints leading from the backroom could only just be made out, weaving through several table legs as though panicked, leading to another door, half hidden by some bookshelves. A soft scuffling sound was coming from inside.

In a few quick strides Remus reached the door and yanked it open. Almost immediately Peter came tumbling out along with a number of books and some battered boxes covered in cobwebs.

'It's all right, you two,' Remus called over his shoulder. 'I've found him.' He offered his hand to Peter and pulled him to his feet. 'Cunning hiding place you found there, Wormtail,' he said slyly. 'Lying in wait?'

'What? Oh! Yeah … yeah, I … er … found Lily and James - like you told me - and … er … I decided it was best for - someone - to … um … be backup!'

'And you bravely offered your service?'

'Absolutely!' Peter gave an embarrassed smile. 'Although the door did get a little … um … stuck,'

Remus chuckled.

'But, you know - the minute you needed me,' he made a dramatic gesture with his hand. 'I'd have been in there- quick as a flash!'

'I know you would have, Wormtail. Thanks.'

Peter fidgeted a little, his face flushed.

Lily rolled her eyes at them both. James came back inside, brushing snow off his robes. 

'Where were you?' he asked Peter.

'Hiding in a cupboard,' said Lily, grinning.

'Lying in wait,' Peter insisted. 'I was backup!'

'Don't suppose you saw a Death Eater come running through here, did you?' she asked. 'From your vantage point behind that cupboard door?'

'Death Eater?' Peter went extremely pale. 'Er…' he shook his head. 'No, why?'

'It's not important now,' said James. 'What _is_ important is getting Sirius back to the Shrieking Shack,' he looked at Remus. 'We don't have a lot of time …'

Remus checked his watch. His stomach flipped over. Madam Pomfrey always came to fetch him as soon as the moon set, when he would transform back to human, and by his reckoning they had no more than an hour.

'Come on,' he said, heading into the back room. 'We have to move fast.'

*

Sirius was still pretty zoned out on wolfs bane but between the four of them, they'd finally got him moving. Prongs had had to shove the werewolf hard with his antlers to get him up on his feet and Remus, in dog form, had to lean against him to keep him standing. But once Sirius caught a whiff of human scent he became a little more focused and determinedly followed it.

Prongs now led the way out of Hogsmeade with Lily riding lightly on his back wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Wormtail rode safely in her pocket. Sirius trotted along behind them, nose in the air, following the human scent while the aconite in his system prevented him form moving much faster than a steady trot. While that was a good thing from Lily's point of view, the downside of it was that they were running out of time. 

Remus loped alongside the wolf, urging him on, willing him to hurry. The moment the moon set, the transformation would occur. Again. Remus felt extremely guilty and ashamed of himself of himself. _How_ could he have allowed such a thing to happen to Sirius? Well, he wasn't going to let it happen again and he certainly wasn't going to wait until the twenty-seventh to see if it would reverse itself, they would perform that spell again as soon as possible, and _this_ time, finish it properly. Seal it permanently. 

This must never happen again, he thought firmly. _Ever._

*

Madam Pomfrey made her way carefully down the beautiful marble staircase into the Entrance Hall. She silently berated herself for being late. Not that she could have helped it. Evan Rosier had kept her awake nearly all night, vomiting every half hour and complaining about stomach pains. Not surprising considering how much food he'd eaten at the Christmas feast. She shook her head disbelievingly. It was incredible how much some people could eat. And then there were those who seemed to live on air; Remus Lupin for one.

That boy really could do with a few extra pounds on him, she though sadly as she opened the front door, stepped outside and eased it shut.

It was still fairly dark and very cold. Shivering, she pulled her thick cloak more tightly around herself and held up her lantern. Its warm glow illuminated the sparkling snow covered lawn. As she walked down the lawn towards the Willow, she looked up at the sky. The moon had set. No doubt that he was undergoing the painful transformation this very moment. Such a shame it had to happen on Christmas.

Taking aim with her wand, she froze the Whomping Willow and walked calmly to the roots. Slipping down between them, she slid down the earthy slope to the hidden tunnel. The lantern provided a little light, but the tunnel seemed so dark and gloomy. Face grim, she set off, taking long, quick strides, holding the lantern up.

In her other hand she carried a small medi-bag containing her wand, several potions, salves and herbs. The matron always took more than was necessary but she couldn't help it, not after seeing Remus after his very first transformation at the Shack seven years ago. The wolf in him resented the forced confinement and because of a lack of prey, had savaged himself badly.

Werewolves generally healed very quickly, much faster than an ordinary person, but Madam Pomfrey had been so horrified that she'd insisted on keeping Remus in the Hospital Wing for almost a week before letting him go back to lessons. After a few years the wounds he inflicted upon himself each month had gradually become less severe. Maybe the wolf was learning to accept its monthly confinement. She sincerely hoped so.

The passage began to rise steeply. She climbed through into the Shack and was surprised, and a little worried, that Remus wasn't there. Normally he would be here waiting for her.

'Remus?' she called.

No answer.

'Remus,' she shouted a little louder. 

Normally she addressed the students by their surname but after having Remus in and out of the Hospital Wing on a regular basis, they'd both taken to using each others first name. A little unprofessional, but Poppy didn't mind.

She quickly search all the rooms downstairs. The young werewolf wasn't there. Clutching her medi-bag tightly, Madam Pomfrey started up the stairs.

'Poppy?'

She jumped and grabbed hold of the banister to steady herself. The pale face of Remus Lupin looked down at her from the upstairs landing.

'Oh, sorry, did I startle you?'

She shook her head, relived to see that he was fine. At least from a distance. She marched up the stairs, ushered him into one of the bedrooms and made him sit quietly so she could examine him.

What she saw made her stare.

Remus watched her nervously.

'Poppy? Is every okay?'

'Yes,' she said slowly. 'Yes … Remus how do you feel?'

'He shrugged. 'Okay … I don't think I did anything major.' He held up his arm, a shallow cut (probably bit himself, she thought) but that appeared to be it.

'No bruising? Nothing's sore?'

'No,'

'How very odd,' she muttered, reaching for her wand to heal the cut. It disappeared instantly.

'The wolf was easier on you this time?' she asked gently, rummaging through her bag.

'Er …' Remus' eyes strayed to the far corner of the room. 'Yeah, it was a bit.'

She handed him a potion bottle. 'Drink this quickly, now,' she said firmly. 'Don't push your luck 

and catch your death of cold.'

Obediently Remus gulped down the Pepper-up Potion. A sudden gush of steam came pouring out of his ears as Poppy conjured a think clock and wrapped it round him.

'Well, we'd best get back to the castle. Remus, I want you stay in the Hospital Wing at least until I've checked that there isn't anything wrong with you. I'm sure your friends will be by to see you after breakfast.' she gave him a rare smile. 'It's nice to see that you've made such good friends,'

'Yes,' he said quietly, pausing in the doorway and looking over his shoulder into the empty room. 'It is,'

* 

'Are you sure about this?' asked James. 'Wouldn't you rather wait for this thing to reverse itself?'

'No,' said Remus sharply. 'We didn't cast it correctly the first time so we can't be sure it'll sort itself out. I'd rather do it now,'

Sirius sat quietly, slightly apart from the others. Pale and exhausted from the change, he'd spent most of the day in bed asleep. He hadn't said much at all, except to voice his approval of performing the spell for the second time when Remus suggested it.

After a quick dinner in the Great Hall, all five of them had retreated to the out of order girls toilet on the second floor. The Astronomy Tower wasn't an option this time as the caretaker, Argus Filch, was busy polishing all the telescopes with Professor Sinistra. 

Peter sat on the floor, mixing up the herbs for the catalyst, carefully stirring in the shredded mugwort. Lily was perched on one of the sinks, swinging her legs back and forth, watching him and fiddling nervously with her hair.

'It's ready,' he said at last.

Without another word, Peter and James stood back as Sirius and Remus knelt on the floor, the catalyst between them. As before they used powdered Erumpent hide to trigger the reaction. The smoke gushed out of the cauldron as they chanted, swirling around them both.

Peter nervously flattened himself against the far wall, as far back as possible. Lily watched, intrigued as Sirius spoke his part of the spell.

__

'Joined together soul and mind,

Lycanthrope curse to you I bind!'

Without hesitation Remus recited his.

'_Joined together soul and mind,_

Animagus form to you I bind!'

Concentrating with all their might on the spell and ignoring the thundering beat of their hearts, both of them launched into the final couplet,

'_Life force elements now translocate!_

Secure the link and seal the gate!'

A blinding flash of light engulfed the two of them - the others flung up their hands to shield their eyes - and a deafening bang echoed throughout the room. The smoke cleared … the light faded into nothing.

Remus and Sirius looked at each other, breathing hard and shaking slightly.

'Did it work?' James asked.

'Hope so,' said Remus, looking pointedly at Sirius who nodded, closed his eyes and concentrated.

A moment later a large shaggy black dog was sat where Sirius had been.

And despite the familiar feeling of post-transformation queasiness now returning to him, Remus couldn't help but feel that he'd done the right thing.

*

As the sun began to set over the Forbidden Forest, the sky began to darken and the stars emerged. One shone as bright as the moon which hung just behind a cloud, slightly less than full, reflected in the still waters of the lake below. On the bank, two figures sat side by side, watching the sky. 

The dying sunlight struck the Willow, highlighting its long branches. It stood as still as stone, seemingly harmless.

One of the boys watched it. Memories of the full moon haunting him still.

The other watched his friend. Not saying a word.

The silence stretched between them for several minutes. Finally one of them spoke.

'You okay?'

Tearing his eyes away from the tree, Sirius nodded.

'Yeah, I'm alright.'

'Lair,' came the soft reply. 'You're not alright.'

Sirius made no reply. He looked back at the Willow.

Remus sighed, looking up at the moon. 'You want to talk about it?'

A moments pause.

'The change … it hurt … a lot,' said Sirius slowly. 'A lot more than I thought it would. But … once it was over … I - I can't remember much,'

Remus nodded. 'Happens to me most of the time,' he said quietly.

'But I _do_ remember seeing you - in front of me … human,' he swallowed. 'I wanted to kill you,'

Remus said nothing.

'I wanted to kill you and I couldn't do anything to stop myself. If Prongs hadn't stopped me-'

'Hey, not your fault, Padfoot. I should have known better than to wait until you'd finished changing … or better yet, I shouldn't have agreed to that spell,' he sounded disgusted with himself. 'Shouldn't have put you through that,' he muttered bitterly.

'It was _my_ idea,' said Sirius, pointedly.

'That's not the point! If I'd just said no then you wouldn't have been able to do it,'

'But you did no, remember? So … why did you change your mind?'

Remus became very focused on his lap.

'you were right when you said you thought I'd leap at the chance to avoid the transformation. I doubted that I'd ever have another chance to be … to be human,'

Sirius rolled his eyes. 'You _are _human, Moony,' he insisted.

'Remus snorted. 'I'm a lycanthrope. A werewolf.'

'Only for one night every lunar month,'

'And you've seen what I become, haven't you? You've even gone through it for crying out loud! You _know _what it's like to be a wild, savage, out-of-control _beast _with no conscience. _I've_ had years of it, Padfoot! More than enough time to get used to it … to a certain extent anyway … and I should have known better than to agree to some stupid spell that would put you through it instead! No-one should have to go through that, Padfoot. No one.'

Sirius nodded. 'Very true, Moony.' he smiled, 'So, I'm glad you agreed to the spell,'

'But - but how can you say that after what you went through?' Remus asked aghast.

'Because this time _you_ didn't have to,' he said softly. 'That was the whole point, Remus. You're one of my best friends, I wasn't about to let you go through the pain of transforming when I knew I could do something about it,'

Remus stared at him.

'I mean … I know it didn't turn out quite how I thought it would … but I really wanted to give you something … special,'

He sighed, gazing at the moon.

Remus smiled.

'You already have,'

~Finis~

__

Authors notes 

Thank you to everyone who read this and reviewed, you've really made my Christmas! Hope you all have a great holiday!

Yoda, I cannot thank you enough for all you've done! I might have given up on writing long before now without you around. Words cannot convey how much I owe you! ;D

****

Merry Christmas!


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